To 

Cornell  University 
My  Alma  Mater 

This  Bcok 
Is  Dedicated 


COPYRIGHT,   192O 
O.  F.  HUNZIKER 


Fred  Klein  Co. 
Printers 
Chicago 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


PREPARED  FOR  THE  USE  OF 

Creameries,  Dairy  Students  and 
Pure  Food  Departments 


By 

OTTO  F.  HUNZIKER,  B.  S.  A.,  M.  S.  A. 
tt 

Author  of  "Condensed  Milk  and  Milk  Powder" 

Formerly  Professor  of  Dairy  Husbandry,  Purdue  University 

Now  Manager  Manufacturing  Department  and  Director  Research  Laboratory 

Blue  Valley  Creamery  Co. 

Chicago 


Published  by  the  Author 

LaGrange,  Illinois 

1920 


Preface 


THE  PURPOSE  of  this  book  is  to  acquaint  the 
buttermaker  with  facts  and  methods  that  will 
assist  him  in  the  economical  manufacture  of 
butter  of  attractive  flavor,  good  body,  uniform 
color  and  superior  keeping  quality;  to  place  before  the 
teacher  and  student  of  buttermaking  the  newer  knowl- 
edge of  the  science  and  art  of  butter  manufacture;  to 
bring  the  investigator  and   research  worker  in  close 
touch  with  the  real  problems  of  the  butter  industry; 
and  to  point  out  to  those  in  charge  of  food  control  the 
possibilities  and  limitations  of  composition  and  prop- 
erties of  commercial  butter. 

This  book  deals  with  the  several  phases  of  the  but- 
ter industry,  from  the  care  and  handling  of  the  milk 
and  cream  on  the  farm  to  the  table  of  the  consumer, 
with  special  emphasis  of  the  causes  and  practical  pre- 
vention of  the  multitude  of  butter  defects. 

It  represents  the  author's  best  knowledge  on  the 
subject,  derived  from  practical  experience  in  com- 
mercial buttermaking,  from  scientific  investigation  and 
research  of  the  problems  of  economy  of  manufacture 
and  of  production  of  quality,  from  the  most  authentic 
experimental  data  of  other  investigators  throughout 
the  dairy  world,  and  from  a  profound  study  of  the 
several  sciences  intimately  related  to  buttermaking. 

O.  F.  HUNZIKER. 

Chicago,  Feb.  i,  1920. 


574322 


Acknowledgment 

In  presenting  the  information  contained  in  this  volume  to 
^he  Dairy  World^  the  author  desires  to  express  his  sincere 
appreciation  of  the  facilities  provided  and  opportunities  accorded 
him  by  the  Blue  Valley  Creamery  Company ',  which  made  possible 
the  revelation  of  new  scientific  truths  of  acknowledged  value  to  the 
butter  industry  y  and  which  greatly  added  to  the  comprehensiveness 
of  this  work. 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY  9 

CONTENTS 

Chapter  I 
HISTORY  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 

Early  history — Later  development — Influence  of  centrifugal  cream  sepa- 
rator— Influence  of  Babcock  test — Influence  of  other  inventions — In- 
fluence of  dairy  research,  instruction  and  control — Influence  of  cream- 
ery promoter — Annual  butter  production  in  U.  S.  and  in  foreign 
countries — Number  of  creameries  in  U.  S Pages  15-30 

Chapter  II 

CREAMERY    ORGANIZATION,   CONSTRUCTION    AND    EQUIP- 
MENT 

Creamery  organizations — Mutual  co-operative  creamery  asso. — Joint  stock 
company  with  co-operative  features — Proprietary  creamery — Creamery 
corporation — Location  of  factory — Water  supply — Sewage  disposal — 
Type  of  building — Drainage  and  drains — Light — Ventilation — Store 
room — Cold  room — Heating — Insulation  of  ammonia,  brine,  steam  and 
water  lines Pages  31-46 

Chapter  III 
BUYING  MILK  AND  CREAM 

Systems  of  securing  milk  and  cream — Direct  deliveries — Cream  routes — 
Skimming  stations — Cream  stations — Route  and  station  shortages — 
Independent  cream  buyer — Farmers'  co-operative  marketing  associa- 
tions— Direct  shipper  system — Concentration  points — Management  of 
patron Pages  31-60 

Chapter  IV 
CARE  OF  MILK  AND  CREAM  ON  THE  FARM 

Healthy  cows  and  attendants — Proper  feed  and  water — Cleanliness — Clean- 
liness of  separator  bowl — How  to  wash  the  separator — Care  of  cream 
after  separation — How  to  cool  cream — Age  of  cream — Protection  of 
cream  in  transit Pages  60-67 

Chapter  V 
SEPARATION   OF  MILK 

Purpose — Principle  of  separation — Methods  of  separation — Gravity  separa- 
tion— Centrifugal  separation — Theory  of  centrifugal  separation — Con- 
struction of  separator — Separator  frame — Bowl  and  spindle — Skim- 
milk  outlet— Cream  outlet — Proportion  of  skim  milk  and  cream — 
Supply  tankj  float  and  discharge  pans — Driving  mechanism — Power 
separators — Hand  separators — Systems  of  oiling — Power  require- 
ments— Capacity  of  separator — Conditions  affecting  skimming  effi- 
ciency— Conditions  affecting  richness  of  cream — Advantages  of  cen- 
trifugal separation  over  gravity  creaming Pages  68-118 


10  THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 

Chapter  VI 
RECEIVING  MILK  AND  CREAM 

Grading  of  cream — Development — Methods  of  grading — Grading  by  taste 
and  smell — Apparatus  needed — Operation  of  grading — Classification  of 
grades — Sampling  milk  and  cream — Single  samples — Composite  sam- 
ples— Care  of  samples — Sampling  frozen  cream — Amount  of  cream 
sample — Weighing  milk  and  cream — "Dumping"  milk  and  cream — 
Can  washing — Can  washing  equipment — Size  and  construction  of 
cans — Rusty  and  damaged  cans Pages  118-148 

Chapter  VII 
NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 

Definition — Object — Importance  of  correct  neutralization — How  to  neutral- 
ize— Adoption  of  standard  of  acidity — Testing  correctly  for  acidity — 
Choice  of  neutralizer — Preparation,  strength  and  amount  of  neutral- 
izer — Affinity  of  lime  for  curd — Summary  of  action  of  lime  in  sour 
cream — Adding  lime  mix  in  proper  manner — Effect  of  per  cent  acid 
in  cream  on  accuracy  of  neutralization — Effect  of  per  cent  casein — 
Effect  of  amount  of  carbon  dioxide  in  cream — Effect  of  time  and 
temperature  on  acid  reduction — Effect  of  neutralization  on  composi- 
tion of  butter — Specific  directions  for  neutralizing  cream  with  lime — 
Neutralizing  tables  Pages  148-180 

Chapter  VIII 
PASTEURIZATION     ' 

Definition— Objects — Improvement  of  flavor — Uniformity  of  quality — Dis- 
truction  of  disease  germs — Improvement  of  keeping  quality — Economic 
advantages— Essentials  for  successful  pasteurization — Methods — Flash 
or  continuous  pasteurization — Flash  pasteurizers — Regenerative  heat- 
ers and  coolers — Operation  of  flash  pasteurizers — Temperature  con- 
•  trol — Cooling  cream  from  flash  pasteurizer — Vat  or  holding  pasteuri- 
zation— Construction  and  operation  of  vat  pasteurizers — Temperature 
and  time  of  exposure — Cooling  cream  in  vat  pasteurizer — Flash  and 
holding  process  combined — Cleaning  and  care  of  pasteurizers — Ad- 
vantages and  disadvantages  of  flash  and  vat  processes.  Effect  of 
pasteurization  on  flavor  and  texture  of  butter — Effect  of  pasteuriza- 
tion on  exhaustiveness  of  churning — Blowing  cream — Effect  of  blowing 
on  flavor  and  keeping  quality  of  butter Pages  180-224 

Chapter  IX 
CREAM   RIPENING  AND   STARTERS 

Definition  of  cream  ripening — Purpose — Effect  on  flavor  and  aroma — 
Effect  on  uniformity  of  quality — Effect  on  exhaustiveness  of  churn- 
ing— Effect  on  keeping  quality — Natural  ripening — Artificial  ripening — 
Temperature — Ripening  vats — Advantages  of  glass  enameled  vats — 
Time  required  for  ripening — Proper  acidity  of  ripened  cream — Over- 
ripened  cream — Methods  to  determine  desired  degree  of  acidity — 
Starter  ripening  vs.  cream  ripening — Starters — Natural  and  commer- 
cial starters — Directions  for  preparation  of  startoline — Directions  for 
making  commercial  starter  from  whole  milk,  skim  milk,  condensed 
milk — Milk  powder — Equipment  for  starter  making — Acidity  in 
starter — Amount  of  starter — Scoring  starters Pages  224-265 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY  11 

Chapter  X 

CHURNING 

Object — Philosophy  of  churning — Milk  and  cream  an  emulsion — Surface 
tension — Absorption — Viscosity — Why  cream  thickens  in  churn — 
Why  butter  "breaks"  suddenly — Solidification  and  coalescence  of  fat 
globules — Conditions  affecting  churnability  of  cream — Size  of  fat 
globules — Chemical  properties  of  butterfat — Viscosity  of  cream — 
Churning  temperature — Time  of  holding  at  churning  temperature — 
Richness  of  cream — Acidity  of  cream — Nature  and  amount  of  agita- 
tion— Speed  of  churn — Amount  of  cream  in  churn — Preparation  of 
chum — Sticky  churns — Straining  the  cream — Addition  of  butter  color 
— Gas  in  churn — When  to  stop  the  churn — Clnirning  difficulties. 

Pages  265-310 

Chapter  XI 

WASHING,  SALTING  AND  WORKING 

Purpose — Drawing-off  buttermilk — Addition  of  water — Temperature  of 
wash  water — Effect  on  moisture  content  of  butter — Overchurning  in 
washwater — Regulating  temperature  of  washwater — Purity  of  wash- 
water — Salting — Purpose — Amount  of  salt — Methods  of  salting — Dry 
salting — Wet  salting — Brine  salting — Types  of  salt — Quality  and  bac- 
teriological and  chemical  purity  of  salt — Solubility  of  butter  salts — 
Condition  of  salt  as  affected  by  storage — Effect  of  salt  on  keeping 
quality,  disease  germs  and  moisture  content  of  butter — Working — 
Purpose  —  Butterworkers  —  Overloading  the  churn  —  Manner  and 
amount  of  working — Effect  of  working  on  body,  color  and  moisture 
content  of  butter — Effect  of  working  on  flavor  and  keeping  quality  of 
butter  Pages  310-363 

Chapter  XII 

PACKING  BUTTER 

Variety  of  packages — Preparation  of  tubs,  boxes,  cubes  and  firkins — Prepa- 
ration of  liners,  circles  and  wrappers — Tin  cans — Packing  tubs,  boxes, 
cubes  and  tins — Butter  prints— Packing  farm  butter — Packing  for  par- 
cel post  shipments — Packing  for  exhibits  and  scoring  contests — Loss 
of  moisture  in  packing — Cost  of  packing — Packing  butter  for  U.  S. 
Navy Pages  363-394 

Chapter  XIII 

THE  OVERRUN 

Definition — Importance — Theoretical  overrun— Actual  overrun — Condi- 
tions affecting  actual  overrun — Composition  of  butter — Accuracy  of 
weights  and  tests  of  cream — Mechanical  losses — Examples  of  overruns 
in  whole  milk  creamery  and  in  farm  separator  creamery — Unavoidable 
discrepancies  in  weights  and  tests  that  affect  overrun Pages  394-412 


12  THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 

Chapter  XIV 
MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

Importance — Essentials  in  successful  marketing — Marketing  dairy  butter — 
Selling  creamery  butter  localfy — Selling  to  wholesale  produce  trade — 
Track  sales — Delivered  sales — Commission  sales — Contract  sales — 
Speculating  in  futures — Butter  exchanges — The  call — Butter  quota- 
tions— Inspection  and  grading — Butter  rules  of  N.  Y.  Mercantile  Ex- 
change— Butter  rules  of  Chicago  Butter  and  Egg  Board — Distribu- 
tion— Per  capita  consumption  of  butter  in  U.  S.  and  abroad — Exports 
and  Imports  Pages  412-447 

Chapter  XV 
BUTTER  STORAGE 

Time  and  duration — Distribution  of  commercial  stocks  of  butter — Short 
held  and  long  "held — Storage  conditions — Air,  light  and  heat — Humid- 
ity— Temperature — Shrinkage  in  storage — Deterioration  in  quality — 
Summary  of  effect  of  cold  storage  on  quality  of  butter.  .Pages  447-459 

Chapter  XVI 
BUTTER  SCORING 

Definition — The  score  card — Valuation  of  defects — Ethics  of  butter  scor- 
ing—Method and  accuracy  of  scoring — Value  of  educational  butter 
scoring  contests Pages  459-466 

Chapter  XVII 
BUTTER  DEFECTS 

Classification — Description — Causes  and  prevention  of  the  following  de- 
fects in  flavor  and  aroma,  body  and  texture,  color — Defects  in  flavor 
and  aroma:  Flat,  stale,  sour,  curdy,  cheesy,  unclean,  cowy  and  barny, 
feedy  and  weedy,  musty  and  smothered,  garlic,  moldy,  yeasty,  bitter, 
•  oily,  metallic,  fishy,  tallowy,  storage,  rancid,  woody,  scorched,  coarse — 
Defects  in  body  and  texture:  weak,  greasy,  salvy,  crumbly,  mealy, 
leaky,  gritty — Defects  in  color:  too  high,  too  light,  bleached,  dull, 
mottled  and  wavy,  white  specks,  yellow  specks,  green  specks. 

Pages  459-530 

Chapter  XVIII 

COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER,  MILK,  CREAM, 
SKIMMILK  AND  BUTTERMILK 

Butter — Butterfat — Soluble,  volatile,  insoluble  and  non-volatile  fats — 
Melting  point — Physical  structure — Water — Moisture  control — Factory 
directions — Relation  of  moisture  to  quality — Curd — Salt — Lactose — 
Acid — Ash — Milk — Cream — Skimmilk — Buttermilk — Whey —  Composi- 
tion of  Ash  and  Separator  Slime Pages  530-558 


THE;  BUTTER  INDUSTRY  13 

Chapter  XIX 

HEALTHFULNESS,  FOOD  VALUE  AND  BIOLOGICAL 
PROPERTIES 

Sanitary  purity  and  healthfulness — Freedom  from  germs  of  disease — Di- 
gestibility—Caloric value— Biological  properties— Fat-Soluble  A— 
Food  value  of  diverse  foods Pages  558-573 

Chapter  XX 
DEFINITIONS  AND  STANDARDS 

Butter — Moisture  ruling — Fat  standard — Butter  standards  in  various  coun- 
tries— Milk  —  Skimmilk  —  Cream  —  Buttermilk  —  Legal  standards  by 
states Pages  573-579 

Chapter  XXI 
WHEY  BUTTER,  RENOVATED  BUTTER  AND  LADLES 

Whey  butter — Manufacture — Wisconsin  law — Renovated  butter — Defini- 
tion— History — Output  in  U.  S. — Manufacture — Packing — Markets — 
Definitions  and  laws — Ladles Pages  579-588 

Chapter  XXII 

STANDARDIZATION,  TESTS  AND   CHEMICAL  ANALYSES   OF 
MILK,  CREAM,  SKIMMILK,  BUTTERMILK  AND  BUTTER 

Standardization  of  milk  and  cream  for  butter  fat — Eight  examples- -Test- 
ing milk  and  cream  for  acid — Factory  tests — Determination  of  specific 
gravity  in  milk,  cream,  skim  milk  and  buttermilk — Weight  per  gallon 
of  cream  of  varying  richness — Determination  of  total  solids  in  milk, 
cream,  skim  milk  and  buttermilk — Total  solids  tables — Testing  milk 
and  cream  for  butterfat — The  Babcock  test — The  Gerber  test — Stand- 
ard glassware,  scales  and  weights — Testing  skim  milk,  buttermilk  and 
whey — Butter  moisture  tests — Butter  salt  tests — Butter  fat  tests — 
Determination  of  curd,  lactose,  acid  and  ash  in  butter — The  Mojonnier 
test — Detection  of  renovated  butter  and  oleomargarine — Bacteriolog- 
ical analyses  of  butter,  milk  and  cream — Table  of  Atomic  weights — 
Table  of  weights  and  measures Pages  588-665 


ERRATA. — Page  301,  Footnote,  "coal-tar  dies"  should  read  "coal-tar 
dyes."  For  other  typographical  errors  that  may  have  escaped  the  proof- 
reader, the  reader's  kind  indulgence  is  respectfully  solicited. 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 

CHAPTER  I. 

HISTORY    AND    DEVELOPMENT    OF    BUTTER 
-INDUSTRY. 

Early  History. — The  art  of  buttermaking  dates  back  to 
times  immemorial  and  reference  to  the  use  of  butter  as  an 
article  of  food  and  for  medical  and  cosmetic  purposes  may  be 
found  chronicled  long  before  the  Christian  Era.  Benno  Martiny,1 
in  his  treatise  "Die  Milch"  and  later  in  his  interesting  volume 
concerning  the  history  of  the  churn,  entitled,  "Kirne  und  Girbe," 
offers  a  multitude  of  quotations  on  buttermaking  by  the  An- 
cients as  far  back  as  2000  B.  C.  He  makes  reference  to  the 
Indians  of  Asia,  the  Hebrews,  the  Arabs,  the  Egyptians,  the 
Greeks,  the  Romans,  the  Teutons,  etc.,  as  well  as  to  the  his- 
tory of  later  centuries. 

While  the  word  butter  appears  in  the  Scriptures  on  many 
occasions  and  as  far  back  as  the  book  of  Genesis  18:8  "And 
he  (Abraham)  took  butter,  and  milk  and  the  calf  which  he 
had  dressed  and  set  it  before  them"  etc.,  one  of  the  first  refer- 
ences to  the  making  of  butter  is  perhaps  that  by  Solomon  in 
Proverbs  30:33,  "Surely  the  churning  of  milk  bringeth  forth 
butter."  In  the  history  of  Ancient  Greece  we  find  that  the 
Greeks  knew  how  to  make  butter  from  milk.  Herodot  and 
Hippocrates  state  that  the  Thracians  made  butter  from  cows' 
milk.  Among  the  Romans  who  made  great  strides  in  agricul- 
tural development,  cheese  appears  more  popular  than  butter; 
however,  Plinius  refers  in  several  instances  to  butyrum  (butter) 
as  an  addition  to  bread. 

The  oldest  equipment  for  buttermaking  was  constructed 
of  earthenware.  Originally  the  milk  was  placed  in  earthen  ves- 
sels and  beaten  with  the  hands  until  the  butter  granules  formed. 
Later  a  wooden  stirring  stick  terminating  at  its  lower  end  in 

1  Benno  Martiny,  Die  Milch,  ihr  Wesen  und  ihre  Verwertungr.  Vo.  I,  1871. 


16  HISTORY  AND  DEVELOPMENT 

a  butt  was  used.  This  arrangement  was  subsequently  changed 
to  a  stick  carrying  a  querl  consisting  of  several  radial  spokes. 
These  were  the  prototypes  of  our  dash  churns  in  which  the 
dasher  terminates  in  a  cross  or  in  a  perforated  round  board 
or  perforated  tin  cone,  fitting  closely  into  the  vertical  churn. 
It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  two  systems  of  butter-making 
by  stirring  or  swinging  the  milk  and  by  beating  or  dashing  it 
with  a  dasher,  are  of  very  ancient  origin. 

Concerning  the  early  history  of  the  uses  of  butter  Hay- 
ward1  reports  the  following: 

"In  early  times  butter  was  employed  in  many  ways.  The 
Hindoos  used  it  for  the  greatest  and  holiest  sacrifices  in  their 
worship.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  did  not  use  butter  as  a 
food,  but  as  the  standard  remedy  for  injuries  to  the  skin.  The 
soot  of  burned  butter  was  regarded  as  a  specific  remedy  for  sore 
eyes.  The  Romans  also  used  it  as  an  ointment  to  enrich  the 
skin  and  as  a  dressing  for  the  hair.  In  the  time  of  Alexan- 
der I.  certain  of  the  Macedonians  annointed  themselves  with 
milk  oil;  and  Galen  records  that  in  many  cold  regions  people 
used  butter  in  the  bath.  Historians  speak  of  butter  used  as 
a  remedy  for  wounded  elephants,  .and  within  a  century  butter 
was  used  in  large  quantities  in  Scotland  and  North  England 
for  smearing  sheep,  also  as  oil  for  lamps.  Besides  being  applied 
externally,  it  was  used  internally  for  various  troubles.  In 
Spain,  as  late  as  the  seventeenth  century,  butter  was  to  be  found 
in  the  medicine  shops  fcr  external  use  only.  In  the  middle  of 
the  previous  century  "A  medicinal  and  economic  treatment  of 
butter"  sets  forth  in  derail  the  value  and  use  of  butter  as  a 
remedy.  In  rural  districts  in  Germany  at  the  present  time 
fresh,  unsalted  butter  is  much  used  as  a  cooling  salve  for  burns. 

"Aside  from  its  use  ;is  a  food,  a  cosmetic,  and  a  medicine, 
the  use  or  possession  of  butter  was  long  regarded  as  indicating 
wealth,  and  so  served  to  distinguish  the  rich  from  the  common 
people.  Evidences  of  this  still  exist.  In  both  Chilas  and  Darel 
a  practice  exists  of  storing-  up  butter  in  the  ground.  Butter  so 
stored  is  left  a  number  of  years,  and,  to  insure  its  not  being 

1  Hayward,  Facts  Concerning  the  History,  Etc.  of  Butter,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr., 
B.  A.  I.  Circular  No.  56,  1904. 


HISTORY  AND  DEVELOPMENT  17 

disturbed,  a  tree  may  be  planted  over  it.  Under  these  condi- 
tions it  turns  deep  red  and  is  highly  prized.  The  owner's  wealth 
is  computed  by  the  quantity  of  butter  he  has  stored  up  in 
this  manner. 

"Butter  was  enjoyed  as  a  food  by  comparatively  few  people 
in.  its  early  history;  tho<se  who  did  so  use  it  seldom  ate  it 
fresh.  The  general  practice  was  to  melt  it  before  storing 
away,  and  instead  of  being  a  spread  it  was  employed  to  enrich 
cooked  foods.  Others,  even  in  comparatively  recent  times, 
used  the  rancid  stored  butter  as  an  appetizer.  In  Dardistan 
peasants  are  said  to  highly  value  salted  butter  grease  that  has 
been  kept  a  long  time,  and  that  which  is  over  one  hundred 
years  of  age  is  greatly  prized. 

"Little  is  known  of  the  part  which  butter  played  as  an 
article  of  commerce  in  ancient  times.  However,  an  early  his- 
torian states  that  in  the  first  centuries  butter  was  shipped  from 
India  to  ports  of  the  Red  Sea.  In  the  twelfth  century  Scandi- 
navian butter  was  an  article  of  over-sea  commerce.  The  Ger- 
mans sent  ships  to  Bergen,  in  Norway,  and  exchanged  their 
cargoes  of  wine  for  butter  and  dried  fish.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  the  Scandinavian  king  considered  this  practice  in- 
jurious to  his  people,  and  in  1186  compelled  the  Germans  to 
withdraw  their  trade.  Toward  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury, among  the  enumerated  wares  of  commerce  imported,  from 
thirty-four  countries  into  Belgium,  Norway  was  the  only  one 
which  included  butter.  In  the  fourteenth  century  butter  formed 
an  article  of  export  from  Sweden.  It  may  be  fairly  inferred 
that  butter-making  in  north  and  middle  Europe,  if  not  in- 
deed in  all  Europe,  was  introduced  from  Scandinavia. 

"John  Houghton,  an  Englishman,  writing  on  dairying  in 
1695,  speaks  of  the  Irish  as  rotting  their  butter  by  burying  it 
in  bogs.  His  report  was  confirmed  by  the  discovery,  in  1817 
and  later,  of  butter  thus  buried,  packed  in  firkins.  This  burying 
of  butter  in  the  peat  bogs  of  Ireland  may  have  been  for  the 
purpose  of  storing  against  a  time  of  need,  or  to  hide  it  from 
invaders,  or  to  ripen  it  for  the  purpose  of  developing  flavor 
in  a  manner  similar  to  cheese  ripening." 


18  HISTORY  AND  DEVELOPMENT 

Later  Development  of  the  Butter  Industry.1 — During  the 
Middle  Ages  the  making  and  use  of  butter  in  the  old  world 
gradually  increased,  but  the  primitive  equipment  and  methods 
available  and  the  absence  of  the  helping  hand  of  science  pre- 
cluded rapid  strides  in  the  development  of  this  now  great 
industry.  At  the  close  of  the  18th  and  beginning  of  the  19th 
century,  the  construction  of  creaming  and  buttermaking  equip- 
ment, other  than  that  made  of  wood,  was  beginning  to  be  con- 
sidered and  the  barrel  churn  had  made  its  entrance  into  the 
field  of  buttermaking.  And,  after  the  middle  of  the  19th  cen- 
tury, the  creaming  in  ice  water  or  other  cold  water  was  strongly 
advocated. 

Up  to  the  middle  of  the  19th  century  the  factory  system  of 
buttermaking  was  practically  unknown  and  both,  in  this  country 
and  abroad,  buttermaking  was  confined  to  the  farm  dairy. 
From  that  time  on,  however,  the  manner  of  making  butter 
underwent  marked  changes,  gradually  at  first,  and  more  rapidly 
as  the  advantages  of  co-operative  and  community  methods  of 
operation  became  more  and  more  appreciated  and  the  inven- 
tion of  new  devices  and  improved  processes  were  introduced. 

In  many  sections  of  this  country,  especially  in  the  Middle 
West,  the  "pooling"  system  of  buttermaking  became  popular. 
In  this  system  numerous  farmers  took  their  milk  to  a  small 
creamery  where  it  was  set  in  shipping  cans,  or  other  deep- 
setting  cans,  in  cold  water  and  on  the  following  day  wras 
skimmed  by  the  operator  and  made  into  butter.  The  returns 
from  the  butter,  after  deducting  the  cost  of  making,  shipping 
and  selling,  were  divided  among  the  farmers  on  the  basis  of 
the  pounds  of  milk  delivered. 

Simultaneous  with  the  advent  of  this  system  the  gathered 
cream  system  also  developed  and  became  very  popular.  The 


1  It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  volume  to  discuss  the  history  and  development 
of  the  butter  industry  in  the  several  butter-producing  countries  of  the  world. 
For  detailed  historic  information  the  reader  is  referred  to  treatise  especially 
devoted  to  this  subject.  A  very  interesting  and  extensive  publication  dealing 
with  the  world  history  of  Dairying  is  the  publication  entitled  "Allgemeine 
Geschichte  der  Milchwirtschaft,  by  F.  Anderegg,  Bern,  Switzerland,  1894.  The 
brief  references  to  development  of  the  butter  industry  given  here  have  for  their 
purpose  more  especially  to  point  out  the  leading  factors  which  were  instru- 
mental in  the  direction  and  extent  of  development  which  this  important 
product  has  attained  in  the  United  States,  and  its  possibilities  for  growth  in 
the  future. 


HISTORY  AND  DEVELOPMENT  19 

farmers  skimmed  their  cream  on  the  farm,  usually  by  the  use 
of  shallow  pans,  but  later  by  setting  the  milk  in  deep-setting 
cans,  set  in  water,  and  this  cream  was  taken  to  the  creamery. 

The  Influence  of  the  Centrifugal  Cream  Separator. — With 
the  advent  of  the  centrifugal  separator  in  the  early  nineties, 
originally  invented  by  the  German  Engineer,  Wilhelm  Le  Feldt, 
in  1872  and  improved  and  made  continuous  by  the  Swedish 
Engineer,  Dr.  Gustav  De  Laval,  and  others  after  the  year  1878, 
and  first  introduced  in  this  country  during  the  years  1885  to 
1890,  the  creameries  installed  power  separators  and  the  cream- 
ing on  the  farm  temporarily  fell  in  disfavor.  The  farmers  again 
hauled  their  milk  to  the  creamery  where  it  was  skimmed  by 
the  centrifugal  separator  and  they  took  back  the  skimmilk. 
Many  creameries,  in  order  to  draw  their  supply  from  a  larger 
radius  of  territory,  established  skimming  stations  in  various 
places  to  which  the  farmers  within  hauling  distance  brought 
their  milk.  The  milk  was  skimmed,  the  crea'm  hauled  or  ship- 
ped to  the  central  creamery  and  the  skimmilk  was  taken  back 
to  the  farm.  Inasmuch  as  these  skimming  stations  served  ex- 
clusively to  separate  the  milk  and  were  not  intended  for  ripen- 
ing and  churning  of  cream  and  packing  of  butter,  they  required 
but  a  small  initial  investment.  Only  a  small  building  and  only 
part  of  the  machinery  essential  for  a  creamery  were  needed.  The 
cost  of  the  skimming  station  was  therefore  much  less  than  that 
of  a  complete  creamery.  An  investment  of  $250  to  $500  for  the 
building  and  of  $600  to  $900  for  equipment  was  all  that  was 
necessary.  Thus  the  perfection  of  the  centrifugal  separator  gave 
birth  to  the  whole  milk,  creamery  system.  Under  this  system 
the  buttermaking  industry  made  rapid  progress  and  the  quality 
of  the  product  showed  marked  improvement. 

In  the  early  nineties  of  the  19th  century  the  development 
of  the  centrifugal  separator,  first,  successfully  manufactured  by 
Dr.  De  Laval  in  1886,  had  reached  the  stage  where  it  could  be 
adapted  to  practical  use  on  the  farm.  Dr.  De  Laval  was  the 
first  to  successfully  devise  and  manufacture  hand  separators 
applicable  to  farm  use.  Its  introduction  on  the  farms  was 
slow  at  first,  but,  in  the  course  of  a  decade,  it  made  rapid  prog- 
ress, especially  in  the  Middle  Western  States.  The  advent  of 


20  HISTORY  AND  DEVELOPMENT 

the   farm   separator  gradually  revolutionized   the   buttermaking . 
industry. 

The  farm  separator  has  made  it  possible  for  the  farmer 
to  skim  his  milk  on  the  farm  efficiently  and  economically  and  to 
ship  or  haul  his  cream,  instead  of  his  milk,  to  the  creamery. 

The  dairy  farmer  readily  sees  the  many  advantages  and 
great  value  of  producing  and  selling  cream,  over  selling  milk. 
The  farm  separator  reduces  the  volume  of  his  produce,  that 
must  be  taken  care  of  on  the  farm  and  that  must  be  shipped 
or  hauled  to  the  market,  to  about  one-sixth  of  the  volume  of 
the  original  milk.  It  means  fewer  trips  to  town  and  less  ton- 
nage to  the  trip,  a  fact  which,  especially  during  the  busy  season 
and  in  the  face  of  the  alarming  shortage  of  farm  labor  consti- 
tutes in  itself  a  compelling  argument  for  the  farm  separator. 
It  means  better  keeping  quality  and  therefore  less  difficulty  in 
the  care  and  handling  of  the  product,  because  for  the  same 
reason  for  which  butter  keeps  better  than  cream,  so  does  cream 
keep  better  than  milk.  It  leaves  the  farmer  in  possession  of 
fresh,  warm  and  sweet  skimmilk,  which  he  needs  for  his 
greatest  success  in  raising  his  calves,  as  well  as  for  hog  and 
chicken  feeding. 

The  farm  separator  is  thus  rapidly  changing  the  system  of 
selling  the  product  of  the  dairy  cow  from  a  whole-milk  busi- 
ness to  a  cream  business  and  it  is  transforming  the  system  of 
creamery  operation  from  the  whole-milk  creamery  of  the  past 
to  the  farm  separator  creamery  of  the  present  and  future. 
This  change  is  taking  place  throughout  the  entire  dairy 
belt  of  the  country.  Even  in  the  most  highly  developed  dairy 
sections,  the  natural  home  of  the  whole-milk  creamery,  the  farm 
separator  creamery  system  is  fast  replacing  the  whole-milk 
creamery  system. 

But  the  country's  growing  demand  for  butter  cannot  all 
be  supplied  from  the  limited  area  of  the  strict  dairy  sections 
where  the  husbandry  of  the  dairy  cow  is  the  principal  farming 
business.  Much  of  the  total  butter  supply  of  the  country  must 
come  from  the  great  states  and  territories  where  grain-raising 
is  the  dominant  agricultural  pursuit  and  where  the  need  of  the 
dairy  cow  for  the  maintenance  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil  is 


HISTORY  AND  DEVELOPMENT  21 

becoming  increasingly  felt  as  a  dominating  factor  in  the  con- 
tinuance of  successful  and  profitable  crop  production.  Here 
again  the  farm  separator  has  come  to  the  rescue.  It  has  enabled 
the  farmer  who  keeps  but  a  few  cows,  and  who  is  located  in 
territory  with  too  sparse  a  cow  population,  to  justify  the  estab- 
lishment and  operation  of  local  creameries,  to  find  a  ready 
market  for  his  cream  by  shipping  to  a  distant  creamery.  And 
it  has  thereby  produced  a  vast  development  of  the  dairy 
industry,  and  a  large  increase  in  the  annual  butter  production 
in  the  great  grain-raising  states  of  the  Middle  West. 

It  is  the  hand  separator  also  that  made  possible  the  estab- 
lishment and  operation  of  the  large  centralized  creameries,  which 
now  secure  their  cream  almost  entirely  from  milk  separated  on 
the  farms  and  which  gather  this  cream  either  by  means  of 
route  wagons,  or  by  the  establishment  of  cream  stations  to 
which  the  farmer  himself  hauls  the  cream,  or  by  having  it 
shipped  to  the  creamery  by  the  farmer  direct.  The  rapid 
development  of  the  creamery  business  in  this  country  during 
the  last  twenty-five  years  may  well  be  attributed  in  a  large 
measure  to  the  introduction  of  the  farm  separator. 

Influence  of  the  Babcock  Test. — Aside  from  the  invention 
of  the  centrifugal  separator  the  invention  and  perfection  of 
methods  for  the  rapid  and  accurate  determination  of  butterfat 
in  milk  and  cream  played  a  most  important  role  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  butter  industry  within  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  factory  system  of  buttermaking 
the  urgent  need  of  a  method  to  determine  the  per  cent  of  fat 
in  milk  and  cream  became  more  and  more  apparent,  in  order 
to  enable  the  factory  to  pay  the  farmer  on  the  basis  of  the 
butterfat  value  of  his  milk  or  cream.  While  the  chemist  was 
able  to  accurately  estimate  the  butterfat  by  the  ether  fat 
extraction  method,  this  means  was  too  difficult  of  operation 
and  too  slow  of  results  for  use  in  the  creamery.  The  creamo- 
meter  or  cream  gauge,  in  which  the  layer  of  cream  rising  on 
top  of  the  milk  was  measured,  the  churn  test,  in  which  samples 
of  cream  from  the  individual  farmers  were  churned  in  order  to 


22  HISTORY  AND  DEVELOPMENT 

determine  the  amount  of  butter  that  the  respective  cream  would 
make,  and  the  oil  test,  in  which  the  butterfat  in  samples  of 
cream  was  melted  out  and  measured,  were  successive  steps  in 
the  earlier  attempts  to  determine  the  correct  value  of  the  far- 
mers' milk  and  cream.  While  they  were  distinct  improvements 
over  the  mere  weighing  and  measuring  of  the  cream  received, 
they  were  slow  of  operation  and  often  misleading  in  results 
and  therefore  failed  to  serve  as  satisfactory  methods.  Several 
more  or  less  practical  methods  devised  in  Europe  did  not  prove 
applicable  under  the  American  creamery  system. 

Between  the  years  of  1885  and  1890  chemists  at  the  several 
American  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations,  located  within  the 
dairy  belt,  bent  their  efforts  to  devise  a  method  that  could  be 
readily  used  for  the  rapid  and  accurate  determination  of  fat  in 
milk  and  cream.  These  efforts  brought  forth  several  fat  tests 
applicable  for  the  purpose,  but  the  test  invented  by  Dr.  S.  M. 
Babcock,  Chemist  at  the  Wisconsin  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  in  1890,  now  known  as  the  Babcock  test,  combining 
simplicity  of  apparatus  and  reagents,  practicability  of  operation 
by  the  layman  and  accuracy  of  results,  is  the  only  method 
which  in  this  country  was  adopted  for  general  use.  In  Europe 
Dr.  N.  Gerber,  of  Switzerland,  devised  a  similar  test,  the  Ger- 
ber  test,  shortly  after  the  introduction  of  the  Babcock  test. 
The  Gerber  test  has  never  come  into  general  use  in  this  country, 
but  has  found  wide  application  in  European  countries. 

The  introduction  of  the  Babcock  test  in  American  creamer- 
ies proved  of  incalculable  value  to  our  butter  industry,  as  well 
as  to  the  dairy  industry  in  general,  making  it  possible  for  the 
creamery  to  pay  the  farmer  on  the  basis  of  the  butterfat  value 
of  his  milk  and  cream,  enabling  the  producer  to  test  the  milk  of 
his  own  cows  and  thus  giving  him  a  practical  means  to  determine 
the  butterfat  production  of  the  individual  cows  in  his  herd,  and 
assisting  the  food  authorities  in  protecting  the  consumer  against 
adulterated  milk.  Dr.  Babcock,  with  his  most  valuable  inven- 
tion, has,  therefore,  been  instrumental  in  placing  the  dairy  indus- 
try of  this  country  on  a  vastly  more  substantial  and  permanent 
basis  than  it  occupied  prior  to  the  advent  of  the  Babcock  test, 
lending  its  development  renewed  momentum  for  the  inesti- 


HTSTORY  AND  DEVELOPMENT  23 

mable  benefit  of  all  branches  of  the  dairy  industry  and  of  man- 
kind in  general. 

Other  Inventions  Assisting  in  the  Development  of  the  But- 
ter Industry. — The  closing  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  and 
the  beginning  of  this  century  have  witnessed  numerous  addi- 
tional inventions  and  improvements  of  creamery  equipment  and 
methods,  which  have  been  of  great  service  to  the  butter  manu- 
facturer. 

Some  of  the  more  important  of  these  are  the  introduction 
of  pasteurization  and  of  the  use  of  pure  cultures  of  lactic  acid 
bacteria,  first  advocated  by  Storch  of  Copenhagen,  Denmark,  and 
by  Weigmann  of  Kiel,  Germany,  in  1887,  the  American  invencion 
of  combined  churns  and  workers,  such  as  the  Disbrow  and  Sim- 
plex in  the  early  nineties,  and  later  the  Victor  and  Perfection 
and  modifications  thereof;  the  invention  of  artificial  refrigera- 
tion, improvement  of  efficient  refrigerator  service  on  transpor- 
tation lines  and  the  rapid  development  of  steam  roads  arid  elec- 
tric interurban  lines  furnished  further  important  facilities  that 
helped  to  make  possible  the  rapid  growth  of  the  creamery 
industry. 

Cream  ripening  by  the  use  of  pure  culture  starters  of 
lactic  acid  bacteria  was  accepted  and  taken  up  rapidly  by  the 
American  creamerymen,  while  pasteurization  of  cream  for  but- 
termaking  was  accepted  with  considerable  reluctance  and  has 
become  fairly  general  only  within  the  last  decade.  Today  the 
great  bulk  of  creamery  butter  is  made  from  pasteurized  cream 
and  in  some  states  legislation  has  been  enacted  requiring  the 
pasteurization  of  all  cream  for  buttermaking. 

Influence  of  Dairy  Research,  Dairy  Instruction  and  Dairy 
Control. — In  the  progress  of  the  butter  industry  and  other 
lines  of  dairying  the  Federal  and  State  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Stations,  the  dairy  schools  and  other  educational  forces 
and  the  law-making  and  enforcing  agencies  must  be  considered 
as  large  factors.  Much  valuable  experimental  data  has  been 
produced  in  this  country  and  abroad  which  has  greatly  assisted 
the  creamerymen  in  improving  their  methods,  in  abandoning 
faulty  processes,  in  reducing  the  cost  of  manufacture,  in  guarding 


24  HISTORY  AND  DEVELOPMENT 

against  costly  butter  defects  and  in  raising  the  standard  of  ex- 
cellence of  the  product. 

The  dairy  schools  have  placed  in  the  field,  during  -the  last 

25  years,  hundreds  of  trained  men  annually,  whose  influence  has 
worked   for   substantial   and    permanent    improvement    of    the 
manufacturing  processes  and  the  extension  work  done  by  state, 
government  and  commercial  concerns  has  been  of  special  service 
in  assisting  the  producer  of  cream  to  produce  more  economically, 
to  stimulate  larger  production,  and  to  improve  the  quality  of  the 
raw  material. 

The  organization  and  activities  of  local,  state,  government 
and  international  dairy  and  creamerymen's  associations,  unions 
and  federations  have  been  important  agencies  in  promoting  dairy 
interest,  enthusiasm  and  progress.  They  have  been  instrumen- 
tal in  the  formulation  and  passage  of  dairy  laws  fostering  the 
dairy  industry,  combating  disease  among  dairy  stock,  prohibit- 
ing unsound  practices,  such  as  fraudulent  testing  of  milk  and 
cream,  damaging  schemes  of  unscrupulous  creamery  promoters, 
and  adulterations  of  dairy  products,  establishing  the  regulation  of 
transportation  rates  on  milk  and  cream  and  controlling  creamery 
competition  and  the  sale  of  butter  substitutes.  They  have 
assisted,  with  competent  council,  state  and  government  officials 
in  the  establishment  and  enforcement  of  dairy  standards  and  laws. 
They  have  stimulated  the  consumption  of  butter  and  other  dairy 
products  by  organized  campaigns,  to  acquaint  the  consuming 
public  with  the  great  food  value,  unexcelled  wholesomeness  and 
true  economy  of  these  products  as  articles  of  the  human  diet. 

All  of  these  varied  agencies  of  investigation,  education  and 
control,  which,  through  liberal  state  and  government  subsidies, 
and  through  active  and  generous  support  of  commercial  insti- 
tutions and  public-spirited  individuals  have  multiplied  speedily, 
both  in  numbers  and  activity,  during  the  last  score  of  years, 
have  served  as  an  additional  and  mighty  impetus  in  the  sub- 
stantial and  rapid  development  and  the  permanent  prosperity 
of  the  butter  industry. 

Influence  of  the  Creamery  Promoter. — Soon  after  the  intro- 
duction of  the  centrifugal  separator  and  up  to  recent  years  the 


HISTORY  AND  DEVELOPMENT  25 

creamery  industry  and  with  it  the  entire  dairy  industry,  has  suf- 
fered great  losses  and  has  been  delayed  in  its  progress  by  the 
activities  of  the  creamery  promoter. 

Grim  monuments  to  the  activities  of  the  creamery  promoter, 
this  scavenger  of  the  dairy  business,  may  be  found  in  many 
parts  of  the  Middle  West  in  the  form  of  defunct  creameries. 
Their  history,  regardless  of  location,  is  much  the  same,  and 
their  careers  have  had  a  depressing  and  retarding  influence  upon 
the  rational  development  of  the  dairy  industry.  They  failed 
because  they  lacked  the  fundamental  essentials  of  the  success- 
ful creamery. 

While  organized  under  the  promising  name  of  co-operative 
creameries,  the  incentive  leading  to  their  creation  was  not  the 
'co-operative  spirit  of  the  respective  communities,  but  the  greed 
of  unscrupulous  promoters,  whose  alluring  promises  of  exag- 
gerated profits  induced  dairy  communities  to  buy  their  ware. 
In  most  cases  the  cow  population  was  entirely  inadequate  to 
furnish  the  necessary  raw  material  to  make  possible  profitable 
operation,  the  necessary  operating  capital  was  lacking,  incompe- 
tent buttermakers  made  an  inferior  product,  inexperienced  man- 
agers mismanaged  the  business,  the  frail  tie  of  co-operation 
between  the  stockholders  was  easily  rent  by  unsatisfactory  re- 
turns from  the  market,  and  the  inevitable  result  was  disorganiz- 
ation, dissolution  and  failure.  In  a  few  isolated  cases  only 
have  these  creameries  survived  these  discouraging  handicaps, 
largely  on  account  of  exceptionally  favorable  local  conditions, 
or  of  the  individual  and  unselfish  effort  and  ability  of  some  one 
person  strong  enough  to  safely  guide  the  ship  through  the  tur- 
bulent waters  into  which  the  creamery  was  launched.  In  some 
cases  these  creameries  passed  into  private  hands  at  a  great 
sacrifice  to  the  stockholders.  In  the  great  majority  of  cases, 
however,  the  promoters'  creameries  succumbed,  after  incurring 
additional  debts,  to  the  natural  consequences  of  the  law  of  the 
survival  of  the  fittest. 

These  defunct  creameries  may  be  counted  by  hundreds. 
They  have  impoverished  the  communities  in  which  they  are 
located,  they  have  caused  their  stockholders  the  loss  of  thou- 


26  ANNUAI,  BUTTER  PRODUCTION 

sands  of  dollars,  they  have  cast  distrust  and  suspicion  on  the 
creamery  business  and  discouraged  the  business  of  milking  cows 
and  selling  cream  for  buttermaking.  They  should  serve  as  a 
warning  to  all  communities  contemplating  the  organization  of  co- 
operative creameries  and  entertaining  negotiations  with  cream- 
ery promoters.  Fortunately,  through  the  efforts  of  the  United 
States  Dairy  Division,  the  dairy  departments  and  dairy  com- 
missioners of  many  states,  the  country  has  been  largely  cleared 
of  the  creamery  promoter.  Only  in  isolated  cases,  do  we  now 
hear  of  his  activities  and  in  such  cases  every  effort  is  made  by 
dairy  officials  to  inform  prospective  communities  of  the  risk 
of  their  contemplated  enterprise. 

Annual  Butter  Production  in  the  United  States. 

Government  statistics  show  that  since  1850  there  has  been 
a  steady  and  continuous  increase  in  the  annual  butter  output 
in  the  United  States.  From  313,345,506  pounds  in  1850  the 
butter  produced  in  this  country  increased  to  1,619,415,263  pounds 
in  1910.  Up  to  1870,  when  the  total  butter  output  amounted  to 
514,092,683  pounds,  practically  all  the  butter  was  produced  on 
the  farm.  From  that  time  on  the  factory  system  of  buttermaking 
started  its  development  and  in  1910  only  about  60  per  cent  of 
the  total  butter  output  was  made  on  the  farm.  Since  1910  the 
production  of  butter  has  shifted  still  more  rapidly  from  the 
farm  to  the  factory.  This  change  has  been  especially  pro- 
nounced where  the  cow  population  is  dense  and  where-  the  dairy 
industry  is  most  intensive,  but  of  late  years,  even  in  states  with 
a  comparatively  sparse  cow  population  and  where  dairying  is 
still  in  its  infancy,  owing  to  the  ready  markets  for  cream  offered 
by  the  large  centralized  creameries  and  because  of  the  vastly 
improved  transportation  facilities,  factory  buttermaking  has 
been  greatly  stimulated,  vast  quantities  of  cream  are  daily 
shipped  from  the  widely  scattered  farms  to  these  creameries, 
causing  a  gradual  abandonment  of  buttermaking  on  the  farm  for 
commercial  purposes  and  confining  farm  buttermaking  largely 
to  the  butter  needed  for  private  and  neighborhood  consumption. 


ANNUAL  BUTTER  PRODUCTION 


27 


Table  I.1 — Population,  Improved  Land,  Dairy  Cows,  and  Produc- 
tion of  Butter  and  Cheese,  by  Geographic  Divisions  for  1870, 
1880,  1890,  1900,  and  1910. 


Year  and  geographic  division.* 

Population. 

Number  of 
dairy  cows. 

Improved 
land. 

Production    for    calendar 
year   preceding   date  of 
census. 

Butter. 

Cheese. 

1910. 
New  England 

6,552,681 
19,315,892 
18,250,621 
11.637,921 
12,194,895 
8,409,901 
8,784,534 
2,633,517 
4,192,304 

841,698 
2,597,652 
4,829,527 
5,327,606 
1,810,754 
1,628,061 
2,249,553 
514,466 
826,  115 

Acres. 
7,254,904 
29,320,894 
88,947,228 
164,284,862 
48,479,733 
43,946,846 
58,264,273 
15,915,002 
22,038,008 

Pounds. 
68,699,379 
165,392,518 
424,137,997 
444,724,204 
125,256,293 
136,791,873 
134,876,201 
34,756,687 
84,780,111 

Pounds. 
3,676,609 
118,339,484 
180,423  449 
5,286,968 
514,  137 
93,971 
441,697 
2,546,935 
9,208,931 

Middle  Atlantic  

East  North  Central    

West  North  Central 

South  Atlantic  

East  South  Central 

West  South  Central  

Mountain 

Pacific        

Total,  United  States  

91,972,266 

20,625,432 

478,451,750 

1,619,415,263 

320,532,181 

1900. 
New  England      

5,592,017 
15,454,678 
15,985,581 
10,347,423 
10,443,480 
7,547,757 
6,532,290 
1,674,657 
2,416,692 

893,478 
2,602,788 
3,962,481 
4.527,803 
1,383,319 
1,264,282 
1,634,954 
329,604 
536,924 

8,134,403 
30,786,211 
86,670,271 
135,643,828 
46,100,226 
40,237,337 
39,  770,  530 
8,402,576 
18,753,105 

92,032,196 
233,986,350 
403,208,930 
407,632,767 
92,883,312 
97,999,645 
88,856,542 
20,499,029 
54,653,831 

6,958,700 
141,259,571 
120,279,089 
13,667,004 
593,308 
181..528 
473,381 
4,709,314 
10,222,744 

Middle  Atlantic 

East  North  Central  

West  North  Central 

South  Atlantic".  

East  South  Central 

West  South  Central  

Mountain    -    

Pacific 

Total,  United  States  

75,994,575 

17,135,633 

414,498,487 

1,491,752,602 

298,344,639 

1890. 
New  England  

4  700  749 

822,001 
2,529,060 
3,752,237 
4,488,762 
1,369,466 
1,312,074 
'       1,517,583 
218,689 
502,078 

10,738,930 
31,599,094 
78,774,647 
105,517,479 
41,677,371 
35,  729,  170 
30,559,654 
5,  460,  739 
17,559,671 

77,240,024 
217,793,692 
327,051,265 
323,491,323 
80,40.1,070 
84,955,855 
50,347,087 
8,709,349 
35,456,941 

9,107,032 
130,131,662 
93,779,808 
16,446,053 
415,291 
177,070 
172,597 
739,976 
5,779,894 

Middle  Atlantic 

12,706,220 
13,478,305 
8,932,112 
8,857,922 
6,429,154 
4,740,983 
1,213,935 
1,888,334 

East  North  Central  

West  North  Central 

South  Atlantic 

East  South  Central  .... 

West  South  Central 

Mountain  

Pacific        

Total,  United  States     . 

62,947,714 

16,511,950 

357,616,755 

1,205,446,606 

256,749,383 

1880. 
New  England 

4,010,529 
10,496,878 
11,206,668 
6,  157,  443 
7,597,197 
5,585,151 
3,334,220 
653,119 
1,114,578 

746,656 
2.444,089 
2,990,852 
2,411,229 
1,280,761 
1,145,403 
1,002,037 
124,844 
297,249 

13,148,466 
33,237,166 
75,589,373 
61,252,946 
36,170,331 
30,820,882 
18,985,889 
2,213,300 
13,352,689 

65.934,782 
211,073,290 
240,351,236 
143,103,863 
48,703,330 
51,603,349 
25,605,422 
3,205,759 
20,091,040 

12,202,042 
138,700/187 
78,950,611 
7,581,959 
640,065 
184,538 
92,385 
606,392 
4,199,671 

Middle  Atlantic  

East  North  Central  .  . 

West  North  Central 

South  Atlantic  

East  South  Central 

West  South  Central.  

Mountain  

Pacific 

Total,  United  States  

1870. 
New  England 

50,155,783 

12,443,120 

284,771,042 

806,672,071 

243,157,850 

'  3,487,924 
8,  810,  806 
9.  124,  517 
3,856,594 
5,853,610 
4,404,445 
2,029,965 
315,385 
675,  125 

642,593 
2,190,429 
2,247,683 
1,046,324 
1,001,094 
835,351 
659,083 
83,419 
229,356 

11,997,540 
29,119,645 
54,899,646 
23,509,863 
30,202,991 
24,218,478 
6,870,297 
576,200 
7,526,439 

49,662,325 
176,  248,  193 
156.138,383 
58,262,042 
28,575,306 
27  273,321 
6,789,083 
1,348,607 
9,795,423 

16,316,016 
104,047-,  024 
35,889,749 
2,151,998 
252,  190 
509,290 
48,208 
181,035 
3,531,872 

Middle  Atlantic 

East  North  Central.  .  .  :  . 

West  North  Central 

South  Atlantic 

East  South  Central  

West  South  Central 

Mountain 

Pacific  

Total,  United  States..  

38,558,371 

8,935,332 

188,921,099 

514,092,683 

162,927,382 

1  U.  S.  Dept  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Crop  Estimates,  Bulletin  177,  1915. 


28  NUMBER  OF  CREAMERIES 

Table  1  shows  the  annual  production  of  butter  and  cheese, 
by  decades  from  1870  to  1910,  in  the  several  divisions  of  the 
country,  as  compared  with  the  population,  dairy  cows  and  im- 
proved acres  of  land.  It  emphasizes  the  fact  that  the  butter 
industry  is  by  far  the  most  important  branch  of  the  manufacture 
of  dairy  products  in  America.  Its  annual  output  is  about  5 
times  greater  than  the  output  of  cheese  and  its  value  nearly  10 
times  the  value  of  the  annual  cheese  output  as  based  on  the  rela- 
tive butter  and  cheese  prices  in  normal  times. 

It  is  further  interesting  to  note  that  while  the  increase  in 
annual  butter  production  in  the  United  States  from  1870  to 
1910,  amounted  to  over  300  per  cent,  the  increase  in  the  annual 
cheese  production  for  the  same  period  was  less  than  200  per 
cent,  and  the  increase  in  population,  number  of  dairy  cows  and 
acres  of  improved  land  was  approximately  238,  231  and  253  per 
cent,  respectively. 

During  the  last  decade  or  more,  the  center  of  the  butter 
industry  has  shown  a  distinct  and  continuous  movement  west- 
ward. In  the  New  England  and  Middle  Atlantic  States  it  has 
gradually  declined,  while  in  the  central,  northern,  western  and 
southern  states  it  has  increased  rapidly.  This  decline  in  the 
East  has  been  due  largely  to  the  wide-spread  tendency  of  the 
energetic  eastern  farmer  to  migrate  westward  in  pursuit  of 
greater  opportunities,  with  the  resulting  decline  of  the  acres  of 
improved  land  in  the  East;  the  rapid  increase  in  the  demand 
for  market  milk  by  the  growth  of  the  population  in  the  Eastern 
industrial  and  trade  centers,  thus  absorbing  a  large  proportion 
of  the  raw  material,  milk  and  cream,  that  formerly  was  made 
into  butter;  and  the  difference  in  cost  of  production  and  manu- 
facture in  favor  of  the  western  farmer  and  creamery  who  can 
lay  down  in  New  England  his  more  staple  dairy  products,  such 
as  butter  and  cheese,  at  lower  prices  than  the  New  England 
dairyman  can  produce  them. 

Number  of  Creameries  in  the  United  States. 
According  to   statistics    furnished    by    the    United   States 
Dairy  Division  there  were  in  operation  in  the  year  1914  5,463 
creameries    in   the   United    States.     These   creameries   are   dis- 
tributed over  the  several  states  as  shown  in  Table  2. 


NUMBER  OF  CREAMERIES 


29 


Table  2. — Distribution  of  Creameries  by  States  in  1914.1 


Alabama 
Arkansas 
Arizona  . . 
California 


3 

4 
2 

152 


Colorado    41 

Connecticut 29 

Delaware    8 

District    of    Columbia 1 

Georgia  1 

Idaho  18 

Illinois    216 

Indiana    Ill 

Iowa    562 

Kansas    43 

Kentucky    5 

Louisiana   3 

Maine    26 

Maryland    43 

Massachusetts    19 

Michigan    273 

Minnesota    848 

Mississippi     2 

Missouri    39 

Montana   25 

Total. . 


Nebraska    52 

Nevada 6 

New  Hampshire    27 

New   Jersey    13 

New  Mexico  7 

New  York   576 

North   Carolina    5 

North  Dakota 67 

Ohio    307 

Oklahoma    25 

Oregon    99 

Pennsylvania     445 

Rhode  Island    1 

South  Carolina   1 

South   Dakota    99 

Tennessee    9 

Texas    95 

Utah    38 

Vermont ..  181 

Virginia    12 

Washington     96 

West  Virginia    6 

Wisconsin    812 

Wyoming 10 


5463 


The  great  majority  of  the  creameries  in  New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania, Michigan,  Ohio,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota  and  Iowa  are 
co-operative  creameries,  while  in  the  Central  West  and  in  some 
of  the  far  western  states  proprietary  creameries  and  centralized 
creameries  predominate. 


1  By  Courtesy  of  U.  S.  Dairy  Division,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 


30 


NUMBER  OF  CREAMERIES 


Table  3. — Production  of  Butter  in  Various  Countries  for  the 

Years  Indicated.   (From  Official  Reports,  Year  Books, 

Statistical  Reports  and  Consular  Reports.) f 


Country 

Annual  butter  production 

1910 

1912 

1913 

1914 

Argentina   .... 
Australia  

Lbs. 
16,617,131 
193,211,909 
201,275,2972 
2,564,993 
209,1  52,606** 

26,226,200** 
291,057,156 
142,430,388 
8,174,657 
55,107,360** 
275,286,240 
72,616,750 
359,631,000! 

1,621,796,475  2 

Lbs. 
20,849,689 
187,194,161 

Lbs. 
22,482,506 

Lbs. 

Canada     

Chile   

2,767,655 

1,924,102 
257,484,052** 

Denmark 
(1905)    
Finland      .  .  . 

France  (1892). 
Netherlands  .  . 
Norway    
New  Zealand.. 
Russia* 

148,166,757 

222,002,266 

58,629,760** 
306,414,650 

70,504,000** 

326,253,150 

Sweden 

United  King- 
dom   (1905). 
United   States. 
Union  of  So. 
Africa 

786,003,489*** 

10,682,000 
112,000,000 

10,741,000 

Italy 

.Country                        1916 

1918 

Lbs. 
Australia       1824707 

78 
30** 

Lbs. 

Canada                              82  564  1 

(1917)    87,404,366** 
114,400,000** 
(1917-18)  47,494,720  (Consul  report) 
775000,000** 

Denmark 

New  Zealand 
United  States 

760,030,573** 

*  Russia  including  Siberia.     **  Butter  made  only  in  factories. 
***  Bureau  of  Market  reports  for  factories  only. 

1  Estimate  of  Royal  Committee  on  "Report  in  Case  of  War." 

2  Latent  census  figures  which  include  the  "farm"  production, 
t  Courtesy  of  U.  S.  Dairy  Division.     Feb.  18,  1919. 


CRKAMERY  ORGANIZATIONS  31 

CHAPTER  II. 

CREAMERY     ORGANIZATIONS,     CONSTRUCTION 
AND    EQUIPMENT. 

Creamery  Organizations. — Buttermaking  started  at  the 
"hub"  of  the  dairy  business,  the  dairy  farm,  in  the  days  when 
industrial  development  was  in  its  infancy  and  when  the  farm 
was  not  only  the  source  of  raw  materials,  but  converted  many 
of  its  raw  materials  into  finished  products  of  commerce. 

The  invention  and  adoption  for  industrial  uses,  of  power 
machinery,  in  the  19th  century,  made  possible  economic  handling 
of  larger  volumes  of  milk  and  cream  and  the  manufacture  of 
larger  quantities  of  butter  than  the  product  on  a  single  farm 
represented.  The  rapidly  growing  population  in  our  towns  and 
cities  demanded  larger  amounts  of  butter  to  be  transported  to 
greater  distances,  than  the  neighborhood  farm  supply  was  cap- 
able of  adequately  taking  care  of.  The  butter  began  to  be 
exposed  to  more  unfavorable  conditions,  and  more  time  elapsed 
in  its  movement  from  the  churn  to  the  table  of  the  consumer,  so 
that  the  matter  of  keeping  quality  required  more  specialized  skill 
and  more  elaborate  equipment  than  was  available  on  the  general 
dairy  farm.  The  trend  of  industrial  development  and  profit- 
able manufacture  demanded  greater  division  of  labor  and  occu- 
pation, specialization,  and  centralization  of  effort.  Business 
enterprise  and  ingenuity  and  able  financing  saw  inviting  oppor- 
tunities and  unlimited  possibilities. in  butter  manufacture  on  a 
larger  scale. 

These  and  many  other  results  of  the  economic  and  indus- 
trial evolution  of  the  country  were  responsible  for  the  gradual 
development  of  the  factory  system  of  buttermaking,  which 
started  after  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  and  which  gave 
birth  to  diverse  forms  of  creamery  organizations,  until  today 
over  one  half  of  the  butter  manufactured  in  this  country  is  made 
in  creameries,  and  practically  all  of  the  butter  that  enters  inter- 
state commerce  and  that  supplies  our  large  markets  is  creamery 
butter.  The  butter  that  is  still  made  on  the  farm  is  largely 


32  CREAMERY  ORGANIZATIONS 

confined  to  that  which  is  consumed  on  the  farm,  and  by  the 
country  store  trade. 

There  are.  principally  four  different  types  of  creamery  or- 
ganizations, namely,  the  mutual  co-operative  creamery,  the  joint 
stock  company  with  co-operative  features,  the  proprietary  factory 
and  the  creamery  corporation. 

The  Mutual  Co-operative  Creamery  Association. — This  is 
strictly  a  farmers'  co-operative  association.  Its  purpose  is  to 
pool  the  milk  or  cream  of  the  individual  members,  the  farmers, 
to  manufacture  it  into  butter  and  to  sell  the  product,  by  the 
employment  of  a  butter  maker  and  manager,  and  in  this  man- 
ner to  save  equipment  and  labor  needed  for  manufacture  and  sale 
of  the  product,  to  secure  greater  skill  for  manufacture,  to  make 
a  better  product  and  to  sell  it  to  better  advantage. 

In  the  truly  mutual  co-operative  creamery  association,  every 
stock  holder  must  be  a  milk  or  cream  producer,  he  must  be  a 
patron  of  the  creamery,  but  not  every  patron  need  be  a  stock 
holder. 

In  some  cases  the  buttermaker  is  employed  at  a  stipul- 
ated salary,  in  others  the  association  agrees  to  pay  him  a  stipul- 
ated commission  for  every  pound  of  butter  manufactured,  such 
as,  for  instance,  three  cents  per  pound. 

The  mutual  co-operative  creamery  association  has  for  its 
object,  not  so  much  the  payment  of  large  dividends  on  the  shares 
of  stock,  but  to  profitably  manufacture  the  milk  and  cream 
into  butter,  i.  e.  to  secure  the  highest  possible  net  returns  for 
the  butterfat  manufactured  into  butter. 

The  amount  of  money  needed  and  decided  upon  for  build- 
ing and  equipment  usually  governs  the  amount  of  the  capital 
stock  to  be  issued.  The  shares  of  stock  usually  range  from  $10.00 
to  $100-00  per  share.  As  it  is  desirable  to  have  as  many  patrons 
as  possible  that  are  also  stock  holders  and  who  are,  therefore, 
interested  financially  in  the  creamery,  shares  of  small  denomin- 
ations have  their  advantage. 

The  net  returns  from  the  business,  which  represents  what 
is  left  after  deducting  from  the  gross  receipts  accruing  from 
the  sale  of  butter  and  other  products,  all  expenses  of  manufac- 
ture, such  as  labor,  supplies,  coal,  ice,  taxes,  and  insurance,  and 


CREAMERY  ORGANIZATIONS  33 

sales  expenses,  and  after  deducting  a  fixed  amount  placed  in 
the  sinking  fund,  which  is  needed  to  take  care  of  current  re- 
pairs, etc.,  and  paying  a  nominal  dividend  on  the  shares  of 
stock,  as  stipulated  in  the  articles 'of  incorporation,  may  be  pro- 
rated among  all  patrons  on  the  basis  of  the  pounds  of  butterfat 
each  patron  delivered  at  the  factory. 

Or,  the  board  of  directors  may  pay  for  the  milk  and  cream 
on  the  basis  of  some  market  quotation,  and  after  deducting  the 
milk  and  cream  checks  and  other  expenses  above  enumerated 
from  the  gross  returns,  it  may  then  prorate  dividends  to  all 
patrons  on  the  basis  of  the  amount  of  butterfat  sold  to  the 
factory. 

The  mutual  co-operative  creamery  association  has  been  a 
very  successful  institution,  in  localities  where  the  cow  popula- 
tion is  dense  and  where  the  farmers  are  imbued  with  the  co- 
operative spirit.  It  has  stimulated  milk  production  by  making 
it  more  profitable,  the  co-operative  service  of  the  association  has 
often  extended  its  useful  offices  beyond  the  making  and  selling 
of  butter,  to  the  co-operative  buying  of  feed,  farm  supplies 
and  machinery,  and  it  has  stimulated  community  interest  and 
general  rural  uplift. 

This  form  of  creamery  is  not  so  well  suited,  however,  in 
localities  where  the  co-operative  spirit  is  lacking  and  where  the 
dairy  herds  are  small,  few  and  far  between.  ••*  : 

The  Joint   Stock   Company  with   Co-operative   Features. — 

Many,  if  not  most  of  the  so-called  co-operative  creameries  are 
not  purely  mutual  co-operative  creamery  associations,  but  they 
are  joint  stock  companies  with  some  co-operative  features.  To 
this  type  of  creamery  companies  also  belong  the  promoters' 
creameries.  The  joint  stock  company  with  co-operative  features 
differs  from  the  mutual  co-operative  association,  largely  on  the 
following  points: 

1.  A  stock  holder  need  not  be  a  patron  of  the  creamery. 

2.  The  capital  stock  is  divided  into  equal  shares. 

3.  The  members  of  the  association  usually  cast  one  vote 

for  each  share  of  stock  held. 
While  it  is  usually  intended  to  have  the  patrons  own  the 


34  CREAMERY  ORGANIZATIONS 

major  portion  of  the  stock,  so  as  to  have  a  large  number  of  active 
patrons  financially  interested  in  the  creamery,  and  to  thereby 
make  more  sure  of  a  constant  supply  of  milk  and  cream,  such 
is,  in  fact,  very  often  not  the  case.  Much  of  the  stock  is  often 
held  by  townspeople  and  others  who  do  not  keep  cows.  This 
fact  has  in  many  cases  proven  to  be  a  contributing  factor, 
responsible  for  the  failure  of  the  creamery.  It  has  constituted 
one  of  the  weak  links  in  the  fabric  of  the  promoters'  creamery, 
the  establishment  of  which  not  infrequently  was  made  pos- 
sible in  localities  which  lacked  the  fundamentals  of  successful 
operation — sufficient  cows  and  farmers  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  co-operation — because  a  sufficient  amount  of  stock  could  be 
sold  to  persons  other  than  milk  producers. 

The  fitness  of  a  locality  for  the  successful  operation  of  a 
joint  stock  company  with  co-operative  features  depends  on 
similar  conditions  as  that  of  the  mutual  co-operative  creamery 
association. 

The  Proprietary  Creamery. — .This  form  of  creamery  organi- 
zation refers  to  an  enterprise  owned  or  operated,  or  both,  by 
an  individual  or  by  several  individuals  who  have  formed  a 
partnership.  In  this  case  the  owner,  or  owners,  usually  buy 
the  milk  and  cream  outright  at  prices  generally  based  on  some 
market  quotation,  as  New  York,  Chicago,  Elgin,  San  Francisco 
quotations,  and  the  prices  offered  are  influenced  also  by  com- 
petition with  other  creameries. 

The  patrons'  responsibility  and  interest  in  the  enterprise 
are  confined  to  the  sale  of  their  milk  and  cream  to  the  creamery 
and  ceases  with  the  delivery  or  shipment  of  the  milk  or  cream 
and  receipt  of  the  creamery's  payment  for  the  same  on  the  basis 
of  its  own  quotation. 

The  profits  and  losses  on  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  the 
butter  are  borne  by  the  creamery,  and,  in  the  case  of  partner- 
ship, are  shared  according  to  the  amount  of  money  invested  by 
each  partner. 

The  proprietary  creamery  obviously  does  not  depend  on 
the  co-operative  spirit  of  the  farming  community.  Its  volume 
is  largely  a  matter  of  price  offered,  intensity  of  competition, 
cow  population,  salesmanship,  and  financial  backing.  It  is  in 


CREAMERY  ORGANIZATIONS  35 

the  business  to  make  profit  from  the  investment  of  capital  and 
its  legitimate  transactions  are  unhampered  by  association 
articles  and  by-laws. 

Partnership  creameries  have  the  disadvantage  of  all  partner- 
ship enterprises.  Each  partner  of  a  firm  is  individually  liable 
for  all  debts  of  the  firm,  contracted  either  with,  or  without 

his  consent. 

• 

Creamery  Corporations. — The  creamery  corporation  is  a 
joint  stock  company  without  co-operative  features.  It  differs 
from  the  proprietary  creamery  in  that  it  is  an  incorporated 
organization,  hence  each  stock  holder  is  liable  only  to  the  extent 
of  the  amount  of  the  money  he  invested.  This  limited  liability 
feature  of  the  joint  stock  company  is  attractive  to  investors 
and  renders  this  type  of  creamery  organization  popular.  Its 
relation  to  the  milk  and  cream  producer  is  similar  to  that  of 
the  proprietary  creamery. 

Its  unlimited  possibilities  have  attracted  and  invited  men 
of  business  enterprise  and  of  capital  into  the  creamery  busi- 
ness in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  especially  into  the  great 
stock-raising  and  grain-growing  sections  of  the  Middle  West  and 
Far  West,  where  the  cow  population  is  not  dense  enough  to 
make  possible  the  successful  operation  of  co-operative 
creameries. 

This  type  of  creamery  organization  has  lent  itself  admirably 
to  the  establishment  and  operation  of  large  centralized  cream- 
eries, who  draw  their  supply  of  raw  material  from  a  vast  area. 
It  is  furnishing  a  ready  and  profitable  market  for  the  product 
of  the  general  farmer  who  has  but  a  few  cows  and  with  whom 
dairying  is  a  side  line  rather  than  the  main,  business.  It  has 
opened  up,  and  is  developing  the  husbandry  of  the  dairy  cow, 
in  sections  where  dairying  was  formerly  thought  unprofitable, 
and  it  thereby  has  become  a  mighty  factor,  not  only  in  increased 
milk  and  butter  production,  but  in  the  re-stocking  of  the  land, 
improving  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  making  farming  more  profit- 
able, furnishing  the  means  for  better  education  of  the  farmer's 
sons  and  daughters,  and  dignifying  the  profession  of  agricul- 
tural pursuits. 


36  CONSTRUCTION  OF  CREAMERIES 

CONSTRUCTION   OF   CREAMERIES 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  volume  to  enter  into  detailed 
discussion  and  to  give  specifications  for  the  construction  of 
creameries.  In  the  case  of  creameries  of  limited  capacity,  such 
as  co-operative  creameries,  and  small  proprietary  factories, 
such  specifications  and  plans  may  be  secured  gratis  upon  re- 
quest from  the  respective  State  Dairy  Departments,  many  of 
whom  have  published  bulletins  containing  this  information  in 
readily  available  and  applicable  form.  1,  2,  3.  In  the  case  of 
creameries  intended  to  do  a  very  large  volume  of  business,  the 
factor  of  personal  ideas  and  preference  on  the  part  of  the  in- 
vestor, combined  with  specialized  talent  usually  employed  by 
him,  renders  directions  in  a  treatise  of  this  type  of  little  value. 
This  discussion  on  creamery  construction  will,  therefore,  logic- 
ally be  confined  to  a  few  general  suggestions  that  may  be 
of  value. 

Location  of  Factory:  Proximity  to  cream  supply,  trans- 
portation and  marketing  facilities. — The  small  local  creamery 
that  depends  for  its  main  supply  of  milk  or  cream  on  a  very 
limited  localized  territory  must  obviously  be  located  as  near  that 
supply  as  possible.  A  large  centralized  plant,  whose  supply 
territory  covers  a  wide  area,  and  that  receives  the  great  bulk 
of  its  raw  material  by  rail,  is  compelled  to  give  first  considera- 
tion to  suitable  railway  or  other  natural  transportation  facili- 
ties, and  to  close  proximity  to  large  consuming  centers  for  the 
ready  marketing  of  its  product. 

Water  Supply. — The  water  supply  is  a  most  important 
factor  which  should  be  definitely  ascertained  in  the  considera- 
tion of  a  suitable  site.  The  creamery,  large  or  small,  needs  a 
plentiful  supply  of  clean,  pure  water,  free  from  pollution  with 
organic  matter,  and  objectionable  minerals  such  as  iron  and 
sulphur. 

Sewerage  Disposal. — The  satisfactory  disposal  of  the  cream- 

1  Mortenson,  and  Davidson,  Creamery  Organization  and  Construction,  Iowa 
Bulletin  139,  1913. 

2  Farrington  and  Benkendorf,  Organization  and  Construction  of  Creameries 
and  Cheese  Factories,  Wisconsin  Bulletin  244,  1915. 

8  Durand  and  Robotka,  Cooperative  Creameries  and  Cheese  Factories  in 
Minnesota,  Bulletin  166,  1917. 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  CREAM SRIES  37 

ery  waste  is  exceedingly  important.  Unless  this  is  provided  for 
by  the  municipal  sewerage  system,  or  a  creek  or  river  with  run- 
ning water  throughout  the  year,  the  creamery  is  compelled  to 
resort  to  artificial  sewerage  disposal  in  the  form  of  septic  tanks, 
or  other  contrivances.  This  is  expensive  and  seldom  entirely 
satisfactory.  It  is  inadvisable  to  locate  the  creamery  in  a  place 
that  lacks  either  natural  or  municipal  facilities  for  the  proper 
disposal  of  its  waste. 

Even  in  case  the  creamery  is  fortunate  enough  to  be  able 
to  connect  with  the  town  or  city  sewer,  it  may  be  necessary  to 
install  a  sediment  tank  or  separating  cistern,  in  order  to  prevent 
the  rapid  coating  and  clogging  of  the  municipal  sewer  line,  where- 
by the  creamery  is  liable  to  forfeit  its  privilege  to  use  the  town 
sewer. 

Type  of  Building. — For  small  local  creameries  a  one  story 
building  is  usually  the  most  suitable.  For  larger  plants,  the  one 
story  building  of  convenient  dimensions  generally  does  not 
provide  for  enough  storage  room  to  carry  the  needed  stock 
of  supplies.  A  two-story  structure  for  creameries  of  over  a 
500,000  Ibs.  butter  output  per  year,  appears  most  suitable  and 
most  economical.  Where  it  is  desired  to  establish  the  gravity 
plan  of  arrangement  and  operation  throughout  the  plant  itrjnay 
be  advantageous  to  use  a  separate  story  or  floor  for  each  depart- 
ment, starting  at  the  top  with  the  receiving  and  "dumping" 
department,  using  the  next  lower  floor  for  neutralization  and 
pasteurization,  the  next  for  holding  the  cream  in  the  vats  before 
churning  and  the  last  and  lowest  floor  for  churning. 

Material  for  Construction. — The  foundation  and  floor  can 
only  be  satisfactory  when  constructed  of  substantial,  non-rotting 
material.  The  material  for  the  superstructure  is  best  chosen 
according  to  availability  and  financial  ability.  A  creamery  can 
be  made  sanitary  without  going  to  the  extravagance  of  costly 
construction.  Show  creameries,  involving  large  investment,  are 
often  not  profitable  creameries,  nor  dot  they  necessarily  symbolize 
superior  quality  of  product.  For  a  small  creamery  with  limited 
capital  a  wooden  superstructure  may  be  entirely  serviceable.  If 
ceiled  and  plastered  on  the  inside  that  much  the  better.  For 
more  durable  construction,  brick,  concrete,  stone,  steel-concrete, 


38  CONSTRUCTION  OF  CREAMERIES 

etc.,  according  to  availability,  financial  ability  and  general  prefer- 
ence may  be  used. 

Floors.— All  floors  in  the  operating  rooms  should  be  of  con- 
crete with  cement  surfacing,  or  similar  non-rottable,  impervious 
material.  The  application  of  a  reliable  concrete  hardener  will 
greatly  help  to  make  the  cement  more  nearly  wear-,  water-,  dust- 
and  crack-proof.  On  the  receiving  floor,  or  platform,  where  the 
cream  cans  are  handled,  inlaid  steel  plates,  materially  protect 
the  floor  against  excessive  wear. 

After  finishing,  the  floors  should  not  be  used  for  at  least 
two  weeks.  This  will  permit  them  to  thoroughly  harden,  a  condi- 
tion which  means  a  great  deal  to  the  life  and  serviceability  of  any 
cement  floor.  The  short  life  of  the  majority  of  unsatisfactory 
cement  floors  in  creameries  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  were 
pressed  into  service  before  the  cement  had  properly  hardened. 

The  cement  should  be  carried  up  on  the  walls  and  partitions 
at  least  two  inches  or  more,  forming  a  sanitary  cove.  In  the  case 
of  wooden  walls  and  partitions,  it  is  advisable  to  lath  and  plaster 
the  bottom  four  to  five  feet. 

The  floors  should  slope  not  less  than  one  eighth  of  one  inch 
per  foot.  The  slope  should  be  uniform  and  even  throughout, 
avoiding  low  places. 

Drainage  and  Drains. — All  floors  of  the  manufacturing  rooms 
should  slope  downward  toward  the  drains,  so  as  to  facilitate  rapid 
and  complete  drainage.  Large,  water-sealed  floor  drains  should 
be  sufficiently  numerous  and  well  placed  in  all  rooms  to  rapidly 
carry  off  the  water.  The  tops  of  these  floor  drains  should  be  about 
one-half  inch  below  the  surface  of  the  adjoining  floor,  so  as  to 
catch  the  water  readily.  This  feature  must  be  personally  super- 
vised by  the  creamery  man,  as  the  average  contractor  is  prone 
to  place  the  drain  top  a  trifle  above  the  surrounding  floor,  ex- 
pecting the  water  to  flow  "up  hill".  In  the  larger  rooms  and 
especially  immediately  under,  or  behind  the  churns,  one  or  more 
open-  drain  ditches  in  the  floor,  six  to  ten  inches  wide,  with  their 
outlet  to  the  sewer  trapped,  by  a  large  bell-trap  or  other  equally 
efficient  water-sealed  drain,  is  preferable.  These  drain  ditches 
may  be  placed  along  the  walls,  or  platform,  or  both,  in  order  to 
least  interfere  with  traffic.  If  located  in  places  over  which  there 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  CRTS  AMBRIES  39 

is  much  traffic  they  are  best  covered  by  heavy,  perforated  iron 
plates.  These  ditches  should  have  a  slope  of  at  least  one-eighth 
inch  per  foot,  their  depth  must  necessarily  depend  somewhat  on 
their  length  and  the  depth  of  the  main  sewer  pipe  into  which 
they  discharge.  It  is  not  advisable  to  have  these  ditches  more 
than  about  40  feet  apart,  for  rapid  drainage  of  the  floor. 

The  main  sewer  pipe,  catching  the  drain  discharges,  should 
be  of  large  capacity,  not  less  than  six  inches  in  diameter  for  a 
small  creamery  and  eight  to  twelve  inches  for  a  creamery  manu- 
facturing over  500,000  pounds  of  butter.  Where  the  creamery 
waste  is  disposed  of  through  the  municipal  sewer,  there  should 
be  installed  between  the  drain  and  the  sewer  pipe,  outside  of  the 
factory,  a  catch  basin,  or  sediment  tank.  This  is  a  tight  cistern 
through  which  all  the  creamery  sewerage  must  pass  and  in  which 
the  curdy  material  is  given  an  opportunity  to  separate  out  and 
rise  to  the  surface,  forming  a  dense  layer.  This  curdy  material, 
if  allowed  to  pass  off  into  the  municipal  sewer,  is  prone  to  coat 
and  ultimately  clog  the  town  sewer  pipe.  This  is  especially 
prone  to  happen,  where  the  town  sewer  line  has  relatively  little 
fall.  This  catch  basin  must  be  cleaned  out,  removing  the  ac- 
cumulated curdy  scum,  at  reasonable  intervals. 

In  order  for  this  cistern  to  operate  efficiently,  it  should  be 
large  enough  to  hold  the  waste  of  at  least  one  day's  run.  Its 
intake  from  the  creamery  should  terminate  above  the  surface  of 
the  accumulating  scum  in  the  cistern,  and  its  outlet  should  extend 
to  near  the  bottom  of  the  cistern.  This  arrangement  will  prevent 
the  outlet  from  becoming  plugged  up  with  scum.  The  chief  solid 
matter  in  creamery  sewerage  floats  on  the  surface.  There  is  very 
little  sediment  deposited  at  the  bottom. 

Light. — It  is  advisable  to  install  a  reasonable  number  of 
properly  screened  windows,  so  as  to  enable  the  operation  of  the 
plant  without  artificial  light,  especially  in  winter,  late  fall  and 
early  spring. 

The  sanitary  value  of  natural  light  in  the  creamery  has  been, 
in  the  past,  greatly  exaggerated  and  over-estimated,  especially  by 
the  average  sanitary  inspector.  The  tendency  has  been  toward 
a  hysterical  eulogy  of  the  purifying  action  of  the  direct  rays  of 
the  sun.  The  fact  is  that  even  in  creameries  with  a  great  abun- 


40  CONSTRUCTION  OF  CREAM SRI£S 

dance  of  windows,  direct  sun  rays  do  not  gain  access  to  the 
interior  very  often,  and  when  they  do,  the  windows  are  usually 
purposely  shaded  to  keep  them  out.  Excessive  exposure  of  milk, 
cream  and  butter  to  sunlight  invites  rapid  oxidation,  and  deter- 
ioration of  the  product. 

From  the  sanitary  standpoint  excessive  light  is  objectionable, 
because  of  the  difficulty  and  practical  impossibility  by  any  now 
known  and  really  practicable  means  of  effectively  controlling 
the  fly  pest  in  summer.  The  flies  gather  where  there  is  light,  they 
shun  the  dark. 

In  creameries,  the  operating  rooms  of  which  are  not  located 
at  a  sufficient  elevation  above  ground  to  place  them  above  the 
fly-line,  which  is  the  case  with  most  creameries,  the  sani- 
tary condition  will  average  far  superior  in  the  absence  of  natural 
light.  The  light  attracts  the  flies,  and  the  pollution  of  the 
product  in  a  fly-infested  creamery  is  far  more  objectionable,  more 
detrimental  to  quality  and  more  dangerous  to  health,  than  the 
absence  of  sunlight. 

Creameries  that  have  made  a  real  study  of  fly  control,  have 
found  and  have  conclusively  demonstrated  by  practical  perform- 
ance, that  the  most  successful  way  of  keeping  their  plants  free 
from  flies  in  summer,  is  to  darken  the  factory,  shutting  out  all 
direct  natural  light  and  operating  under  diffused  or  artificial  light. 

In  one  story  buildings,  a  well-built  skylight,  with  windows 
so  hung  and  equipped  as  to  enable  the  use  of  the  skylight  also 
lor  ventilating  purposes,  generally  proves  a  satisfactory  arrange- 
ment of  windows.  The  skylight  has  the  additional  advantage  of 
attracting  the  flies  to  the  ceiling  and  keeping  them  away  from 
equipment  and  product. 

V-  vUnder  any  circumstances  it  is  advisable  to.  provide  for  a 
satisfactory  system  of  artificial  lights  for  operation  when  natural 
light  is  either  not  available  or  not  desired. 

Ventilation. — A  proper  and  efficient  system  of  ventilation 
is  a  very  important  phase  of  creamery  construction,  and  sani- 
tary and  economical  operation.  This  applies  to  all  parts  of  the 
factory  where  work  is  being  done,  and  it  is  especially  essential 
in  rooms  where  much  free  steam  escapes. 

The  ventilating  system  should  be  adequate  to  afford  ready 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  CREAMERIES  41 

and  quick  removal  of  free  steam,  to  efficiently  expel  foul  air, 
and  to  facilitate  the  regulation  of  temperature.  Unless  the 
masses  of  free  steam  which  befog  the  atmosphere  daily  in  every 
creamery,  find  a  ready  exit,  and  are  expelled  from  the  factory 
quickly,  they  will  condense,  and  cause  the  walls  and  ceiling  to 
sweat  and  drip  and  rot  or  corrode,  the  motors,  belts  and  other 
equipment  to  deteriorate,  and  mold  growth  to  develop  on  walls 
and  ceilings  and  supplies.  This  is  especially  the  case  during  the 
winter  months.  The  removal  of  foul  air  and  the  control  of  the 
temperature  of  the  air  are  essential  for  the  comfort,  health  and 
maximum  efficiency  of  the  employees  and  for  the  protection 
of  the  product  against  deteriorating  contamination. 

The  system  of  ventilation  best  suited  to  accomplish  this 
must  of  necessity  vary  with  the  location,  type  and  size  of  the 
building  and  the  arrangement  of  the  machinery.  In  the  small, 
one-story  building,  with  a  high  roof,  a  well-made  sky-light  with 
a  steep  slope  of  the  side  roofs,  toward  the  sky-light,  may  prove 
fairly  efficient,  especially  where  an  effort  is  made  to  place  the 
equipment  that  gives  off  the  free  steam  as  directly  under  the 
sky-light  ventilator  as  possible. 

In  large  creameries  with  more  than  one  story  the  sky-light 
system  is  seldom  feasible.  Nor  is  gravity  ventilation,  under 
average  conditions,  adequate  to  produce  satisfactory  results,  in 
creameries  where  there  is  bound  to  be  much  escape  of  free  steam. 
In  gravity  ventilation,  the  circulation  and  exchange  of  air  de- 
pends exclusively  on  the  difference  in  temperature  between  the 
atmosphere  on  the  inside  and  outside  of  the  creamery.  This 
fails  to  produce  a  sufficiently  rapid  exchange  of  air  to  remove 
the  free  steam  before  it  condenses,  especially  in  cold  weather. 

It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  provide  for  some  form  of  forced 
ventilation.  Under  certain  conditions  the  use  of  the  chimney 
may  furnish  the  needed  draft.  In  this  case  an  outer  chimney 
is  built  around  the  smoke  stack  proper,  with  an  air  space  be^ 
tween  the  two  stacks,  and  one  or  more  ventilating  flues  in- 
stalled in  the  creamery  and  terminating  in  the  jacket  between 
the  two  chimney  shafts,  provides  the  exit  for  the  air  in  the 
creamery. 

Under  many  other  conditions,  however,  it  becomes  neces- 


42  CONSTRUCTION  OF  CR£ AMBRIES 

sary  to  hood  that  equipment,  from  which  free  steam  escapes  in 
large  volume,  such  as  can  washer  and  steamer,  forewarmer, 
pasteurizer,  etc.  and  to  have  these  hoods  connected  with  flues 
that  are  equipped  with  mechanical  fans,  preferably  of  the 
squirrel-cage  type,  which  expel  the  air  and  steam  mechanically 
through  the  wall  or  roof  of  the  building. 

Hoods  without  forced  draft  connections  are  usually  not  ef- 
ficient and  prove  unsanitary.  The  steam  escaping  from  the 
heated  cream  is  always  more  or  less  charged  with  free  acids 
which  condense  on  the  sides  of  the  hood  and  soon  render  it 
foul  and  unsanitary.  The  forced  draft  produced  by  a  mechan- 
ical fan  expels  the  steam  so  rapidly  that  the  volatile  acids  escape 
to  the  outside  before  they  have  a  chance  to  condense.  For 
satisfactory  operation  the  hood  should  have  as  steep  a  slope 
as  possible,  at  least  45  degrees,  otherwise  the  friction  on  the 
hood  retards  the  escape  of  the  steam  too  much.  The  bottom  of 
the  hood  should  terminate  in  a  channel  and  drip,  to  collect  any 
condensation  that  may  return  from  the  flue. 

Ventilating  shafts  terminating  at  their  upper  extremity  in 
a  pent  house  which  is  equipped  with  a  fan  are  very  serviceable, 
provided  that  the  motor  which  drives  the  fan  is  properly  pro- 
tected against  the  hot  steam  and  free  acids  that  escape,  or  that 
the  motor  is  located  outside  of.  the  penthouse. 

In  rooms  not  infested  with  free  steam,  but  where  many 
people  are  at  work,  such  as  may  be  the  case  in  the  print  room, 
gravity  ventilation,  usually  proves  adequate.  In  the  absence  of 
a  satisfactory  gravity  system  with  air  shafts  for  the  automatic 
intake  of  fresh  air  and  exit  for  foul  air,  the  installation  of  a 
mechanical  fan  in  the  wall  or  ceiling  is  recommended. 

The  Store  Room. — A  spacious  store  room  should  be  pro- 
vided, so  as  to  enable  the  creamery  to  carry  a  plentiful  stock 
of  supplies,  package,  and  cans.  The  size  of  the  store  room  should 
offer  no  obstacle  to  the  creamery's  ability  to  take  advantage  of 
rebates  and  bargains,  by  purchasing  in  quantities. 

In  the  case  of  the  one  story  factory  there  is  seldom  enough 
room  provided  for  a  spacious  store  room  and  it  may  be  advant- 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  CREAMERIES  43 

ageous  in  such  cases  to  erect  or  rent  the  use  of  a  suitable  shed, 
with  rain-proof  roof,  in  convenient  proximity  to  the  factory.  In 
the  case  of  the  two  or  more  story  creamery,  the  second,  or 
upper  floor,  generally  serves  as  the  store  or  stock  room. 

The  store  room  should  be  so  located  and  constructed  that, 
it  can  readily  be  kept  clean  and  dry.  A  damp  storage  room 
harbors  dangers  that  may  prove  most  disastrous  to  the 
creamery.  It  invites  mold  growth  on  tubs,  liners,  wrappers  and 
other  packing  material  and  contributes  to  the  rusting  of  the 
cans  in  stock. 

If  located  on  the  first  floor,  as  a  part  of  the  factory,  it  should 
be  protected  against  free  steam,  and  leaky  pipes.  If  a  shed  is 
used,  the  floor  should  be  sufficiently  elevated  above  ground  to 
avoid  dampness  from  below,  and  the  sides  and  roof  should  be 
rain-proof.  If  located  on  the  second  floor  above  the  factory, 
every  effort  should  be  made  to  keep  it  closed  against  the  moisture- 
saturated  air  in  the  factory.  The  elevator  shaft  should  be  housed 
in  and  the  housing  should  be  equipped  with  self-closing  doors 
in  the  factory  and  in  the  store  room.  If  a  portion  of  the  store 
room  is  located  over  the  boiler  room,  care  should  be  taken  that 
the  blow-off  and  pop-off  valves  discharge,  not  over  the  boiler, 
but  through  the  walls  to  outside  of  the  room.  The  store  room 
located  over  the  factory  is  bound  to  be  penetrated  by  the  factory 
air  to  some  extent,  even  in  spite  of  all  these  precautions.  If 
this  store  room  represents  the  top  floor  and  the  roof  is  not  in- 
sulated, this  air  will  condense  on  the  underside  of  the  cold  roof 
in  winter,  resulting  in  dampness  and  dripping,  to  the  serious 
detriment  of  the  stock  stored  on  this  floor.  The  only  permanent- 
ly satisfactory  means  of  avoiding  this  dampness  is  to  seal  the 
roof  on  the  under  side,  either  with  matched  lumber  or  with  some 
prepared  insulation  material. 

Cold  Room. — One  or  more  cold  rooms  of  suitable  size,  ac- 
cording to  the  capacity  of  the  creamery,  is  a  necessary  feature. 
Where  butter  is  printed  with  the  Friday  printer,  or  other  similar 
printing  equipment,  the  butter  must  have  a  chance  to  harden, 
so  it  can  be  cut.  into  square-cornered,  sharp-edged  bricks.  This 
requires  storing  in  a  room  at  a  reasonably  low  temperature. 
Most  churnings  of  butter,  especially  during  the  busy  season  of 


44  CONSTRUCTION  OF  CREAMERIES 

the  year,  must  be  held  for  several  days  before  shipment  can  be 
made.  This  holding  must  be  done  in  a  cool  or  cold  atmosphere 
in  order  to  retard  deterioration. 

The  cold  room  must  be  properly  insulated,  preferably  with 
cork  board  or  similar  efficient  insulating  material,  at  the  bottom 
under  the  concrete  floor,  at  the  sides  and  in  the  ceiling.  The  floors, 
walls  and  ceilings,  doors  and  windows,  besides  being  insulated, 
must  be  tight.  A  poorly  insulated  cold  room,  of  loose  con- 
struction and  ill-fitting  doors,  Avastes  cold  and  fails  to  adequately 
protect  the  butter. 

The  cold  room  must  be  dry.  A  damp  or  wet  cold  room 
is  a  prolific  breeding  place  for  molds.  In  order  to  insure  free- 
dom from  dampness,  the  drips  from  the  melting  ice  or  from  the 
sweating  brine  pipes,  or  ammonia  coils,  must  be  carried  off  with- 
out leakage,  and  such  circulation  of  air  must  be  provided  as 
will  cause  the  moisture  in  the  air  to  condense  over  the  ice  or 
cooling  coils. 

_, .  For  this  purpose,  the  ice  rack  or  the  cooling  coil  rack  must 
be  located  over  a  water-tight  pan  which  discharges  the  drips 
into  a  suitable  receptacle  or  to  the  outside  of  the  cold  room. 

Proper  circulation  of  the  air  is  provided  by  equipping  one 
side  of  the  ice  rack  or  cooling  coil  rack  with  a  baffle  board  that 
extends  from  the  drip  pan  to  within  a  short  distance  from  the 
ceiling.  The  warm  air,  which  is  charged  with  moisture  is  lighter 
than  the  cold  air.  The  warm  air  rises  to  the  top  of  the  baffle 
board  and  passes  over  the  ice  or  cooling  coils  where  it  con- 
denses its  moisture,  and  the  cooled  dry  air  drops  down  into 
the  cold  room  from  the  other  side  of  the  drip  pan  where  there 
is  no  baffle  board.  This  produces  a  constant  and  efficient  circula- 
tion of  the  air  in  the  cold  room,  removing  the  moist  air  and 
replacing  it  by  dry  air. 

Bath  Room. — Every  up-to-date  creamery  should  have 
suitable  and  adequate  toilet  and  bath  room  facilities.  The  neces- 
sity of  this  essential  is  self-evident. 

Heating. — Suitable  arrangements  should  be  provided  to  con- 
trol the  temperature  in  the  factory.  In  localities  with  cold 
winters  the  heating  is  usually  best  done  by  the  use  of  exhaust 
steam.  Where  the  machinery  is  driven  by  electric  power  and 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  CRKAMSRIES  45 

no  steam  driven  pumps  are  in  operation,  and  there  is  therefore 
no  exhaust  steam  available,  a  low  pressure  steam  line  may  be 
run  direct  from  the  boiler  to  the  radiators.  It  is  not  advisable 
to  place  steam  pipes  or  any  other  pipe  lines  in  the  concrete 
floor  for  obvious  reasons. 

Insulation  of  Ammonia,  Brine  Steam  and  Water  Lines. — 

The  matter  of  insulation  of  ammonia,  brine,  steam  and  water 
pipes  is  an  important  item  as  related  to  the  economy  of  fuel.  For 
proper  and  economical  insulation  the  following  types  of  pipe 
covering  are  recommended : 

Ammonia  and  Brine  Lines. — 
1st  layer  of  tarred  felt. 
2nd  layer  of  1"  thick  hair  felt. 
3rd  layer  of  tarred  felt. 
4th  layer  of  1"  thick  hair  felt. 
5th  layer  of  tarred  felt. 
6th  layer  of  wove-felt  paper. 
7th  layer  of  8-oz.  canvas  jacket,  sewed  on. 
8th  layer  of  sizing  and  one  coat  of  lead  and  oil  paint. 
Each  layer  of  hair  felt  must  be  securely  wound  with  twine. 
Each  layer  of  all  material  should  be  coated  with  hot  asphalt,  ap- 
plied while  hot,  excepting  layers,  6,  7  and  8. 

Special  seals  must  be  made  at  all  flanges  and  fittings,  and 
such  flanges  and  fittings  must  be  insulated  independently.  This 
arrangement  will  prevent  damage  to  adjoining  coverings,  should 
fittings  spring  leaks. 

Before  applying  pitch  or  asphalt,  the  necessary  precautions 
must  be  taken  to  have  the  pipes  thoroughly  dry  and  the  asphalt 
or  pitch  must  be  hot. 

Steam  Lines. — Air  cell  asbestos  covering,  or  covering  of 
equal  insulating  and  lasting  quality,  one  inch  thick  on  pipes,  and 
fittings  to  be  built  up  of  asbestos  cement  to  a  corresponding 
thickness;  smoothly  finished  and  neatly  canvassed,  with  metal 
bands  at  18"  intervals.  Before  putting  on  the  metal  bands  the 
covering  should  receive  two  coats  of  asbestos  cold  water  paint. 
Cold  Water  Lines. — Covering  of  wool  felt,  tar  paper  lined, 


46  BUYING  MII,K  AND  CRKAM 

sectional,  one  inch  thick  on  pipes;  fittings  to  be  built  up  to  a 
corresponding  thickness  with  one  inch  hair  felt,  the  entire  line 
should  be  neatly  finished  with  a  graded  mixture  of  Portland 
cement  and  asbestos  cement,  and  canvas-jacketed  and  equipped 
with  metal  bands  at  18"  intervals.  Before  putting  on  the  metal 
bands,  the  covering  should  receive  two  coats  of  asbestos  cold 
water  paint. 

CHAPTER  III. 
BUYING    MILK    AND    CREAM. 

Systems  of  Securing  Milk  and  Cream. — The  economy  of  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  butter  is  greatly  dependent  on  the  vol- 
ume of  business  done  and  this  in  turn  is  controlled  by  the 
amount  of  butterfat  the  creamery  receives.  The  creamery  must 
have  butterfat  to  manufacture  butter,  and  the  larger  the  supply 
of  butterfat,  other  conditions  being  equal,  the  more  profitable 
will  be  its  business.  Local  conditions,  the  increasing  demand 
for  butterfat  by  manufacturers  and  dealers  of  diverse  dairy 
products,  and  the  growing  keenness  of  competition  among  the 
creameries  for  milk  and  cream,  have  gradually  developed  four 
distinct  systems  of  securing  the  butterfat  from  the  farmer.  These 
are  direct  deliveries  of  milk  and  cream,  milk  and  cream  routes, 
skimming  stations  and  cream  stations,  and  the  direct  shipper 
system. 

Direct  Deliveries  of  Milk  and  Cream. — In  this  system  the 
milk  or  cream  is  hauled  by  the  farmer  direct  to  the  creamery. 
This  is  the  oldest  system  of  getting  the  butterfat  to  the  creamery. 
This  is  the  system  that  first  marked  the  inovation  of  making 
butter  in  the  factory  instead  of  on  the  farm.  It  started  by  hav- 
ing the  farmers  haul  their  milk  to  the  creamery  where  it  was 
pooled  and  separated  by  gravity.  Simultaneously,  also,  the 
practise  of  skimming  the  milk  on  the  farm  by  gravity  and  the 
hauling  of  the  cream  developed.  When  the  centrifugal  cream 
separator  for  factory  use  appeared,  the  skimming  on  the  farm 
was  largely  abandoned  and  the  farmer  hauled  his  milk  to  the 
creamery  where  it  was  separated  by  the  centrifugal  separator. 
But  the  glory  of  the  whole-milk  creamery  was  comparatively 
short  and  the  subsequent  advent  of  the  farm  separator  changed 


BUYING  MII,K  AND  CREAM  47 

the  place  of  skimming  back  to  the  farm  and  again  the  farmer 
hauled  his  cream  to  the  creamery. 

This  system,  whereby  the  farmer  hauls  his  own  cream  to 
the  creamery  has  the  advantage  that  the  creamery  comes  in 
constant  and  individual  contact  with  its  patrons.  Any  disputes 
arising  over  quality  and  weights  and  tests  can  be  readily,  quickly 
and  usually  satisfactorily  settled,  misunderstandings  are  in- 
frequent because  the  two  contracting  parties  know  each  other 
and  in  case  of  dissatisfaction,  the  weighing  and  testing  can  be 
done  in  the  presence  of  the  patron,  giving  him  an  opportunity 
to  convince  himself  of  the  correctness  of  the  work. 

Again,  the  farmer  who  hauls  his  own  cream,  usually  de- 
livers it  at  reasonably  frequent  intervals.  This  enables  the 
creamery  to  secure  a  fairly  fresh  cream  of  good  quality  and  if 
the  quality  is  not  as  it  should  be,  the  trouble  can  be  explained 
and  instructions  for  improvement  given  at  the  platform  direct 
to  the  patron  himself. 

The  greatest  drawback  to  this  system  lies  in  the  fact  that 
it  limits  the  cream  supply  territory  to  a  very  narrow  radius, 
which  does  not  permit  of  material  extension.  The  individual 
patron  refuses  to  haul  his  cream  a  long  distance.  This  system 
is  adapted  only  to  sections  of  the  country  where  the  dairy  in- 
dustry has  reached  a  high  state  of  development,  where  dairying 
is  the  principle  business,  where  the  herds  are  of  good  size  and 
in  close  proximity,  where  the  cow  population  is  dense.  In  ter- 
ritories where  the  dairy  industry  is  as  yet  in  its  infancy,  where 
dairying  is  merely  a  side  issue  of  beef-,  grain-,  or  fruit-farming, 
where  the  herds  are  small  and  far  apart,  and  where  the  cow 
population  is  sparse,  the  creamery  could  not  secure  enough  raw 
material  to  operate  on  a  profitable  basis  by  this  system  of  secur- 
ing cream. 

The  Cream  Route  System. — In  this  system  the  creamery 
establishes  routes  and  the  hauling  of  cream  is  done  by  cream 
haulers  engaged  by  the  creamery.  The  hauler  collects  the 
cream  at  the  farmer's  door,  where  he  weighs  and  samples  it. 
The  cream  route  system  is  the  natural  outcome  of  centralization 
of  cream  delivery.  By  it,  one  man,  the  cream  hauler,  with  one 
team  or  truck,  and  traveling  over  the  route  but  once  is  capable 


48  BUYING  Miuc  AND  CREAM 

of  bringing  to  the  creamery  the  cream  which  by  the  direct  de- 
livery system  requires  the  time  of  a  score  or  more  of  patrons 
and  the  use  of  as  many  conveyances  and  the  traveling  of  hun- 
dreds of  miles  to  deliver  it.  The  route  can  cover  a  much  wider 
area  and  it  brings  the  market  so  close  to  the  door  of  the  patron, 
that  even  the  farmer  who  has  but  a  very  few  cows  and  can 
offer  only  a  small  amount  of  cream,  can  afford  to  patronize  the 
creamery.  The  cream  route,  therefore,  is  a  stimulant  to  the  dairy 
business,  it  encourages  the  milking  of  cows,  it  saves  the  farmer 
the  time  and  equipment  necessary  to  haul  his  own  cream,  it 
reduces  the  cost  of  delivery  and  increases  the  cream  supply  of 
the  creamery. 

Its  disadvantage  lies  in  the  fact  that  by  the  route  system 
the  creamery  operator  is  no  longer  in  direct  touch  with  the 
patron.  It  deals  with  the  patron  through  the  hauler.  It  must 
depend  on  the  hauler  to  take  correct  weights,  and  samples  of 
the  farmers'  cream  and  to  induce  the  farmer  to  furnish  cream  of 
good  quality.  The  success  of  this  system  much  depends  on  the 
efficiency,  conscientiousness  and  loyalty  of  the  cream  hauler. 
Unfortunately  the  work  of  cream  hauling,  and  the  compensation 
for  this  work,  do  not  always  attract  men  qualified  as  cream 
route  men.  The  cream  hauler  who  fails  to  understand  the 
principle  and  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  securing  represen- 
tative samples  of  cream,  or  who  is  so  little  interested  in  his 
business  that  he  permits  the  patron  to  become  careless  in  the 
handling  of  the  cream,  resulting  in  poor  quality,  or  who,  for 
private  gain,  undermines  the  faith  of  the  patron  in  the  integrity 
of  the  creamery,  is  obviously  a  costly  liability,  rather  than  a 
valuable  asset  to  the  creamery. 

Experience  with  the  route  system  has  demonstrated  that 
the  quality  of  the  cream  received  from  the  routes  is  a  fairly 
reliable  index  to  the  character  and  efficiency  of  the  cream  hauler. 
The  routes  furnishing  the  best  cream  are  usually  found  to  be 
manned  by  the  most  efficient  and  reliable  haulers.  In  a  similar 
way  the  degree  to  which  the  route  fat  checks  with  the  creamery 
fat  reflects  fairly  accurately  the  performance  of  the  hauler. 
Routes  operated  by  efficient  and  conscientious  haulers  seldom 
show  serious  shortages  in  fat,  the  fluctuations  are  slight  and 


BUYING  MII<K  AND  CREAM  49 

at  the  end  of  the  month  the  differences  practically  balance  each 
other.  But  not  so  with  the  routes  covered  by  an  inferior  hauler. 
Here  the  fat  actually  received  by  the  creamery  is  almost  in- 
variably less  than  the  fat  indicated  by  the  tests  of  the  individual 
patron's  samples  and  the  shortages  are  often  very  great.  On 
these  routes  the  creamery  is  therefore  compelled  to  pay  for 
more  butterfat  than  it  receives,  the  overrun  is  diminished  and 
profits  may  turn  into  losses.  It  is  obvious  that,  in  order  to 
control  these  losses  and  to  have  an  accurate  check  on  the  work 
of  the  route  men,  the  creamery  must  systematically  check  up 
the  butterfat  of  each  delivery  of  each  route  and  impress  upon 
its  haulers  that  repeated  serious  discrepancies  of  this  nature 
will  not  be  tolerated. 

The  haulers  either  receive  a  commission  of  so  many  cents 
per  pound  of  butterfat  delivered,  or  they  are  hired  by  the  day  or 
by  the  month,  or  they  receive  both  wages  and  a  commission. 

When  hauling  for  a  commission,  the  hauler  usually  receives 
from  two  to  four  cents  per  pound  of  butterfat  and  he  furnishes 
his  own  conveyance.  The  commission  basis  has  the  advantage 
that  it  furnishes  a  strong  incentive  to  secure  the  largest  possible 
volume  of  cream  and  to  increase  the  number  of  patrons.  It  has 
the  further  advantage  that  the  hauler  owns  the  conveyance  and 
the  creamery  is  relieved  of  the  expense  of  its  upkeep.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  principle  of  the  commission  basis  and  the  type 
of  men  who  usually  insist  on  hauling  for  a  commission,  are  not 
particularly  favorable  to  the  stability  of  the  business.  On  the 
commission  basis  the  income  of  the  hauler  varies  very  greatly 
with  the  seasons  of  the  year.  In  summer,  during  the  flush  o 
the  milk-producing  season,  he  prospers,  while  in  winter  milk 
production  is  at  ebbtide  and  many  patrons  drop  out  entirely, 
often  causing  his  income  to  drop  below  a  living  wage.  This 
situation  causes  some  of  these  haulers  to  quit  hauling  in  winter 
or  to  haul  elsewhere,  where  the  temporary  compensation  offered 
is  more  attractive.  Generally  speaking,  the  hauler  who  works 
on  a  straight  commission  basis  is  the  most  independent  and  the 
least  controllable  hauler.  He  takes  the  attitude  that  he  owns 
the  route  and  is  at  liberty  to  do  with  it  what  he  pleases  and. 


50  BUYING  MILK  AND 

since  his  income  depends  on  volume,  he  generally  pays  little  or 
no  attention  to  quality. 

When  the  cream  hauler  is  paid  a  daily  wage  he  usually  re- 
ceives from  two  to  four  dollars  per  day  and  the  creamery  fur- 
nishes all  or  part  of  the  conveyance,  or  he  receives  from  three  to 
five  dollars  per  day  and  he  furnishes  all  the  conveyance  and 
takes  care  of  its  upkeep.  As  a  rule  men  who  are  available  for 
employment  by  the  day  or  month  are  of  somewhat  more  stable 
type.  They  prefer  a  regular,  known  income  to  speculating  on 
the  fluctuating  fortunes  of  a  commission.  They  are  employees 
of  the  creamery  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word  and  as  such  expect 
to  follow  its  instructions.  Their  work,  therefore,  is  more  easily 
controlled  by  the  creamery  and  is  more  dependable.  The  ab- 
sence of  the  financial  stimulus  for  results  may  deprive  them 
of  some  of  the  enthusiasm  of  the  commissioned  hauler,  to  secure 
volume,  yet  if  they  are  the  right  type  of  men  this  is  usually  no 
serious  handicap. 

Finally,  some  creameries  guarantee  a  definite  wage  and  then 
pay,  in  addition,  a  small  commission  of  say  one-half  cent 
per  pound  of  butterfat  for  every  pound  of  butterfat  received 
over  and  above  a  certain  fixed  minimum.  This  double-pay 
system  often  works  out  very  satisfactorily,  it  combines  the 
stability  of  the  daily  wage  system  with  the  incentive  for  volume 
of  the  commission  system,  and  makes  the  hauler  feel  that  he  is 
sharing  in  the  profits  of  the  creamery. 

The  expense  of  the  cream  route  system  varies  very  con- 
siderably with  different  creameries.  It  averages  from  about  two 
to  five  cents  per  pound  of  butterfat.  Experience  has  shown 
that  when  the  creamery  owns  the  conveyance  the  expense  of 
hauling  is  usually  greater  and  frequently  very  much  greater 
than  when  the  hauler  furnishes  it.  Careless  management  and 
neglect  of  teams  and  trucks  may  make  the  cost  of  the  upkeep 
very  high.  It  is  therefore  to  the  creamery's  interest  to  have 
the  hauler  furnish  his  own  conveyance  and  take  care  of  its  up- 
keep. 

The  automobile  truck  has  vastly  increased  the  possibilities 
of  the  route  system,  permitting  the  covering  of  a  much  wider 
area  than  is  possible  with  a  team.  For  the  best  team  of  horses 


BUYING  MILK  AND  CREAM  51 

a  route  with  a  circuit  of  twenty-four  mlies  is  the  very  maximum 
that  can  be  covered  in  a  day  and  there  is  need  of  frequent  days 
of  rest  for  the  horses  when  the  routes  cover  such  wide  circuits 
A  good  automobile  truck  can  easily  make  a  circuit  of  fifty  miles 
per  day,  thereby  covering  a  vastly  greater  territory  and  hauling 
to  the  creamery  a  much  larger  volume  of  cream.  The  cost  of 
hauling  by  truck,  when  the  truck  is  manned  by  a  competent  man. 
the  country  is  reasonably  level  and  the  roads  good,  is  no  greater 
than  the  cost  of  hauling  by  team.  In  the  case  of  an  incompetent 
driver,  however,  the  repairs  may  vastly  increase  the  expense  of 
hauling  by  automobile  truck.  In  a  hilly  country  and  in^a  country 
with  poor  roads  there  usually  are  times  of  the  year  when  the 
truck  cannot  be  used  and  it  is  necessary  to  do  the  hauling  by 
team. 

Not  all  cream  secured  by  the  route  system  is  hauled  direct 
to  the  creamery.  Many  routes  do  not  terminate  at  the  creamery 
but  have  their  circuit  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  cream- 
ery and  the  hauler  ships  the  cream  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
day's  work  to  the  creamery  by  rail. 

The  Skimming  Station  and  Cream  Station  System. — In  the 
days  of  the  whole-milk  creamery  and  the  use  of  the  centrifugal 
factory  separator,  the  creameries,  in  an  effort  to  expand  their 
milk  supply  territory,  established  skimming  stations  located  at 
a  convenient  hauling  distance  or  at  a  reasonable  shipping  dis- 
tance. The  farmers  brought  their  milk  to  these  skimming  sta- 
tions, where  it  was  skimmed  and  tested,  and  from  where  the 
cream  was  hauled  or  shipped  to  the  central  creamery. 

With  the  advent  and  use  of  the  farm  separator  the  skim- 
ming station  gradually  disappeared  and  the  cream  station  took 
its  place.  In  this  case  the  farmers  skim  their  cream  on  the 
farm  and  haul  it  to  the  cream  station  and  the  cream  station 
ships  it  to  the  creamery.  Within  recent  years  the  cream  sta- 
tion system  has  developed  very  rapidly  and  today  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  these  cream  stations  are  in  operation,  especially  in  the 
central  and  far  west  of  this  continent. 

The  cream  station  has  been  a  tremendous  factor  in  develop- 
ing the  business  of  milking  cows,  especially  in  sections  of  the 
country  with  a  relatively  thin  cow  population,  where  herds  are 


52  BUYING  MILK  AND  CREAM 

too  small,  the  farms  too  far  apart,  and  the  amount  of  milk 
produced  within  the  available  radius  of  local  creameries  is  too 
limited  to  make  possible  the  profitable  operation  of  such 
creameries.  The  cream  station  brought  the  market  in  these 
undeveloped  dairy  sections  close  enough  to  the  farmer  to  enable 
him  to  readily  dispose  of  the  product  of  his  cows  and  to  insure 
him  with  a  permanent  market.  This  naturally  encouraged  him 
to  keep  cows  and  while  milk  producing  on  these  general-pur- 
pose farms  was  a  side  line  only,  it  became  a  profitable  side  line 
that  invited  attention  and  development. 

Cream  stations  which  are  operated  by  intelligent  and  com- 
petent men  who  are  interested  in  the  development  and  welfare 
of  the  dairy  business,  have  proven  successful  and  beneficial  to 
both  the  creamery  and  the  farming  community.  In  many  locali- 
ties, however,  competition  has  had  a  demoralizing  effect  on  the 
cream  station  system,  as  many  as  half  a  dozen  creamery  com- 
panies opening  up  stations  at  the  same  shipping  point.  This 
has  divided  and  reduced  the  cream  available  to  each  concern, 
multiplying  the  expense  of  handling  the  cream  and  increasing 
the  cost  of  securing  the  butterfat. 

In  a  great  many  cases  the  cream  station  is  merely  a  corner 
in  the  grocery  store  or  country  store,  largely  equipped  only  with 
a  cream  scale  and  a  Babcock  tester  and  lacking  proper  facilities 
for  the  keeping  of  the  cream  before  shipment  and  for  the  proper 
cleansing  and  scalding  of  cans  and  other  utensils.  And  the  sta- 
tion operator  in  these  cases  is  the  storekeeper,  or  his  helper, 
neither  of  whom  may  have  any  interest  in  or  knowledge  of  the 
dairy  business.  Nor  does  the  storekeeper  usually  run  the  cream 
station  for  the  profit  he  may  make  out  of  it.  His  chief  aim  is  to 
attract  the  farmers,  so  as  to  secure  and  hold  their  trade  on  his 
merchandise.  In  towns  where  there  are  several  stores,  each 
store  may  represent  a  cream  station  and  the  cream  received  by 
each  station  goes  to  a  different  central  creamery. 

It  may  be  readily  observed  that  this  type  of  cream  stations 
is  not  only  of  no  benefit,  but  may  become  a  distinct  detriment  to 
the  dairy  industry,  causing  shortages  of  butterfat  between  sta- 
tion and  creamery,  and  encouraging  the  farmer  in  the  production 
of  cream  of  poor  quality.  In  the  establishment  and  proper  opera- 


BUYING  Miuc  AND  CRKAM 


53 


tion  of  cream  stations  the  following  factors  are  of  permanent 
importance : 

Location. — The  cream  station  should  be  accessible  to  the 
farmers  who  come  into  town  from  the  various  directions.  At 
the  same  time,  a  location  should  be  selected  which  would  offer 
good  drainage,  freedom  from  dust,  isolation  from  stables,  junk 
shops  and  other  contaminating  surroundings.  Open  privy  vaults 
and  manure  piles  should  be  especially  guarded  against,  as  they 
are  prolific  breeding  places  of  flies  which  may  infect  the  cream 
with  germs  harmful  to  the  quality  of  the  product,  and  danger- 
ous to  the  health  of  the  consumer.  Bad  odors  are  easily  absorbed 
by  cream  and  in  turn  are  transferred  to  the  butter,  thus  jeopardiz- 
ing its  market  value.  The  location  of  the  station  should,  there- 
fore, be  selected  with  due  consideration  of  sanitary  surroundings. 


Testing  Table 


| 
o  Cooling    T< 

s» 
ink    0 

Can    "Rack 

Fig*.  1.    Arrangement  of  a  properly  equipped  cream  station 

Construction. — The  materials  used  for  ordinary  building 
purposes  are  entirely  suitable  for  the  cream  station.  For  a  per- 
manent cream  station,  however,  the  selection  of  materials  of  per- 
manent character  and  not  susceptible  to  decay  is  a  matter  of 
economy.  The  great  majority  of  the  buildings  that  house  cream 
stations  are  built  and  used  fundamentally  for  other  purposes, 
and  are  selected  for  the  handling  of  cream  after  they  are  built. 
It  is  important  that  at  least  a  separate  room  be  reserved  for 


54  BUYING  MiiyK  AND  CREAM 

the  purpose  of  handling  the  cream.  This  room  should  embody 
the  most  fundamental  sanitary  features  necessary  in  the  proper 
handling  of  perishable  food  products,  such  as  an  impervious  floor 
of  sufficient  slope  to  permit  good  drainage,  adequate  ventilation 
and  light  and  proper  screening  of  doors  and  windows. 

Equipment. — The  equipment  of  the  cream  station  should 
adequately  provide  for  the  receiving,  weighing,  sampling  and 
testing  of  the  cream ;  for  keeping  the  cream  cool  and  for  the 
washing,  scalding  and  drying  of  the  cans.  The  chief  features 
of  such  an  equipment  are  platform  scales,  sample  bottles, 
samplers,  Babcock  testing  outfits,  consisting  of  standard  test-bot- 
tles, acid  measures,  acid,  pipettes,  cream  test  scales,  centrifugal 
machine,  hot  water  bath,  glymol,  facilities  for  water  and  steam 
or  hot  water,  a  wash  tank,  can  rack,  and  a  cream  cooling  tank. 
There  should  also  be  provisions  for  keeping  the  first  and  second 
grades  of  cream  separately  and  the  places  used  for  the  different 
grades  should  be  so  placarded. 

The  Operator. — The  operator  is  the  soul  of  the  station.  He 
is  the  local  representative  of  his  company  and  should  realize  his 
responsibility.  He  should  recognize  the  fact  that  he  serves  as 
a  mirror  in  which  the  patrons  see  the  policy  and  attitude  of  the 
creamery.  He  should  give  correct  and  honest  weights  and  tests, 
and  be  fair  and  right  in  all  his  dealings  with  the  farmers,  so  as 
to  gain  and  maintain  their  respect  and  confidence.  He  should 
know  the  problems  of  the  farmer  as  well  as  those  of  the  creamery. 
He  should  so  direct  his  efforts  as  to  be  of  service  to  them  with 
competent  advice  on  better  cows,  better  feeding  and  the  proper 
care  of  the  cream.  He  should  be  familiar  with  the  conditions 
which  cause  cream  tests  to  vary  so  as  to  satisfy  the  patrons 
in  the  case  of  controversies  arising  from  such  variations;  and 
above  all  he  should  appreciate  that  the  most  effective  means  of 
securing  the  patrons'  co-operation  for  better  cream,  lies  in  his 
example  in  grading  and  caring  for  the  cream  properly  after  it 
arrives  at  the  station  and  in  returning  clean,  dry  and  sweet- 
smelling  cans. 

Station  Shortages. — One  of  the  biggest  problems  of  the 
station  operator  is  the  shortages  which  occur  between  the 
amount  of  butterfat  paid  for  by  him  and  the  amount  received  by 


BUYING  MILK  AND  CREAM  55 

the  creamery.  This  is  usually  caused  by  his  failure  to  remove 
all  of  the  cream  from  the  patron's  can,  improper  sampling,  errors 
in  reading  or  the  reading  of  unsatisfactory  tests,  or  possibly  the 
loss  of  cream  in  transit.  The  latter  can  easily  be  checked  by 
comparing  the  pounds  of  cream  shipped  from  the  station  with 
the  amount  received  by  the  creamery.  With  the  exception  of  the 
last  point,  the  operator  of  the  station  has  practically  the  whole 
matter  in  his  hands.  The  very  fact  that  many  stations  are  check- 
ing within  less  than  one  per  cent  of  the  amount  of  butter  fat 
handled  is  an  encouragement  for  others  to  work  for  a  similar 
standard.  Accurate,  painstaking  work  at  the  creamery  and  at 
the  station  will  eliminate  excessive  losses. 

In  the  majority  of  the  cream  stations,  the  cream  is  weighed 
and  tested  and  the  station  operator  pays  the  farmers  direct.  In 
fact  one  of  the  advantages  of  the  station  system  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  farmer  can  see  his  cream  tested  and  can  get  his  money 
upon  delivery  of  the  cream.  This  feature  has  its  disadvantages 
too,  in  the  fact  that  it  often  brings  about  hasty  and  inaccurate 
testing  and  unreliable  tests.  In  some  states  (Kansas  for 
instance)  the  law  forbids  the  testing  of  the  cream  on  the  day  it 
is  received,  so  as  to  guard  against  abuses  of  the  station  testing. 

Some  cream  stations  merely  weigh  and  sample  the  cream 
and  send  the  mixed  cream  and  the  samples  to  the  central 
creamery,  and  the  creamery  sends  the  checks  to  the  patrons 
either  direct  or  through  the  station  operator.  Here,  as  in  the 
route  system,  the  creamery  often  experiences  serious  difficulties 
in  making  the  station  fat  check  with  the  creamery  fat  and  the 
shortages  are  usually  against  the  creamery. 

The  station  operator  generally  receives  a  commision  of  from 
two  to  four  cents  per  pound  of  butterfat  handled.  This,  to- 
gether with  operating  expense  and  railway  charges  for  shipping 
the  cream  to  the  creamery,  causes  the  expense  of  buying  by 
the  station  system  to  amount  to  about  from  three  to  six  cents 
or  over  per  pound  of  butterfat,  not  including  the  usual  short- 
ages in  the  butterfat  due  to  differences  between  station  and 
creamery  tests. 

Independent  Cream  Buyers. — Another  phase  of  the  cream 
station  system  is  that  known  as  the  independent  cream  buyer. 


56  BUYING  MII<K  AND  CREAM 

In  this  case  the  creamery  does  not  operate  a  station  as  such. 
The  independent  cream  buyer  operates  a  cream  station  of  his 
own.  Here  he  receives  the  farmer's  cream,  weighs  and  tests 
it  and  ships  it  to  the  creamery.  He  sells  it  to  the  creamery 
at  a  stipulated  price  based  on  market  quotations.  The  creamery 
simply  buys  the  cream  from  the  independent  cream  buyer  and 
pays  him  for  it,  regardless  of  how  he  secures  it,  or  what  he  pays 
for  it.  These  independent  buyers  are  under  no  specific  obliga- 
tion to  the  creamery,  they  are  not  employed  by  the  creamery 
and  they  sell  to  the  creamery  that  will  pay  them  the  best  price. 

The  independent  buyer  cannot  be  considered  a  stable  factor 
in  the  creamery  business.  His  investment  in  the  business  is 
negative  and  his  responsibility  to  the  business  causes  him  no 
worry.  His  tendencies  are  nomadic,  he  exists  because  he  sees, 
or  thinks  he  sees,  an  opportunity  to  make  easy  money.  His 
plans  do  not  contemplate  permanency  of  business,  he  goes  into 
it  prepared  to  retire  from  it  the  moment  conditions  are  not 
favorable  for  immediate  profit.  In  exceptional  cases  the  creamery 
may  advantageously  deal  with  the  independent  buyer,  but  more 
often  these  business  relations  are  of  short  duration  only,  and 
often  cease  when  the  creamery  needs  cream  most.  With  a  few 
isolated  exceptions,  the  independent  buyer  cares  nothing  for 
quality  and  furnishes  an  inferior  grade  of  cream. 

Farmers'  Co-operative  Marketing  Association. — Still  another 
type  of  cream  station  system  is  represented  by  Farmers'  Co- 
operative Marketing  Associations,  in  which  the  farmers  pool 
their  cream  and  sell  it  through  the  medium  of  the  secretary  or 
other  representative  officer  of  their  association.  Such  an  associa- 
tion has  been  in  operation  in  the  state  of  Nebraska  for  several 
years.  While  the  principle  of  mutual  co-operative  organizations 
of  this  type  is  commendable  and  should  be  advantageous  to  the 
cream  producer,  the  actual  results  of  their  operation  have  not 
proved  very  satisfactory  from  the  standpoint  of  the  stability  of 
the  creamery  industry.  This  association  cream,  similar  to  the 
independent  buyers  cream,  represents  a  floating  supply.  The  as- 
sociation sells  to  the  highest  bidder  and  the  keen  competition 
among  creameries  for  cream  not  infrequently  causes  the  prices 
paid  for  this  cream  to  be  far  beyond  its  market  value.  This,  to- 


BUYING  Miut  AND  CRKAM  57 

gather  with  the  uncertainty  of  securing  this  cream,  caused  by 
the  fact  that  the  co-operative  association  may  sell  to  one  cream- 
ery today  and  to  another  creamery  tomorrow,  tends  to  have  a 
demoralizing,  rather  than  a  stabilizing  effect  on  the  creameries 
concerned. 

The  Direct-Shipper  System. — In  this  system  the  patrons  ship 
to  the  creamery  direct.  Similar  as  in  the  case  of  the  station 
system  the  great  advantage  of  the  individual-shipper  system 
lies  in  its  practically  unlimited  supply  territory,  enabling  the 
creamery  to  draw  on  a  larger  area  for  its  raw  material. 

This  system  has  the  further  pronounced  advantage  of 
eliminating  the  middleman  and  his  commission  and  of  doing 
away  with  the  possibility  of  discrepancies  in  pounds  of  butter- 
fat  between  middleman  and  creamery.  The  cream  reaches  the 
creamery  direct  from  the  farmer,  where  it  is  weighed,  sampled 
and  tested  under  conditions  that  facilitate  accuracy  and  minimize 
errors.  It  also  saves  the  creamery  the  expense  of  shipping  cans 
since  the  cream  is  shipped  to  the  creamery  in  the  farmer's  own 
cans  and  no  transfer  into  creamery  cans  is  required,  as  is  the 
case  with  the  cream  route  and  with  the  station  systems. 

The  individual-shipper  system  combines  the  simplicity  and 
economy  of  the  direct  delivery  of  the  cream  by  the  individual 
patron  at  the  creamery,  with  the  advantages  of  securing  volume, 
of  the  cream-route  and  cream-station  systems. 

Its  disadvantages  are  few.  In  the  routine  of  business  per- 
sonal contact  with  the  farmer  is  difficult.  Except  for  the  hold- 
ing of  occasional  dairymen's  meetings  in  which  the  creamery 
representative  will  meet  the  farmer,  the  patrons  are  reached 
largely  by  mail  only.  With  a  well  organized  correspondence 
department,  however,  it  has  been  found  that  this  manner  of 
contact  can  be  made  exceedingly  efficient  and  effective. 

Experience  has  amply  demonstrated  that  the  direct-shipper 
system  furnishes  a  better  quality  of  cream  than  the  usual  cream 
station  or  the  average  cream  route.  The  cream  is  shipped  on  a*n 
average  as  often  as  the  station  or  route  gets  it  so  that  there  is 
not  much  preference,  if  any,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  age 
of  the  cream.  The  cream  coming  to  the  creamery  direct  and 
without  being  held  up  and  transferred  in  the  cream  station,  where 


58  BUYING  MILK  AND 

it  is  often  exposed  to  very  unfavorable  temperature  conditions, 
and  where  good  cream  is  frequently  mixed  with  cream  of  inferior 
quality,  is  a  strong  factor  in  favor  of  direct-shipper  cream. 

Again,  the  central  creamery  is  better  equipped  with  ade- 
quate can  washing,  rinsing,  sterilizing  and  drying  facilities  than 
most  of  the  cream  stations.  This  insures  clean  cans  for  the 
direct-shipper  patron  while  the  station  patron  often  gets  cans 
that  are  in  very  unsanitary  condition.  The  bad  effect  on  the 
quality  of  the  cream  of  an  unclean  can  in  itself  is  serious,  but 
the  moral  effect  such  cans  have  on  the  patron  is  of  even  greater 
significance.  The  patron  who  finds  that  his  can  which  he  takes 
back  from  the  station  is  unclean  and  has  a  foul  odor,  loses 
interest  in  his  own  care  of  the  cream.  He  realizes  the  hopeless- 
ness of  his  efforts  to  furnish  the  station  with  good  cream  when 
he  has  to  store  and  haul  that  cream  in  contaminated  cans.  And 
the  station  operator's  gospel  of  sanitation  under  such  conditions 
falls  on  deaf  ears. 

Concentration  Points. — Some  creameries  receiving  their 
cream  by  the  direct-shipper  system  establish  and  operate  so-called 
concentration  points,  to  which  the  farmers  ship  their  cream  and 
from  which  it  is  shipped  by  the  creamery  company  to  the  cen- 
tral factory.  ^ 

These  concentration  points  usually  are  fully  equipped  and 
efficiently  manned  plants  for  the  grading,  weighing,  sampling, 
testing  and  cooling  of  the  cream,  for  the  washing  and  sterilizing 
of  the  shipping  cans  and  for  the  soliciting  of  cream  from  the 
farmers.  They  differ  principally  from  the  cream  stations,  in 
that  the  concentration  point  pays  direct-shipper  prices  for  but- 
terfat,  and  that  most  of  its  cream  supply  arrives  by  rail. 

The  concentration  point,  similar  to  the  cream  station,  has 
for  its  purpose  the  extension  of  the  cream  supply  territory,  the 
increase  of  volume.  Its  inevitable  draw-back  is  that  it  tends  to 
jeopardize  the  quality  of  the  cream.  The  cream  arriving  at  the 
Concentration  point  has  already  been  exposed  to  the  trials  of 
rail  shipping  once,  and  its  delay  at  this  point  together  with  that 
of  reshipping  prolongs  its  journey  from  farm  to  factory.  The 
effect  of  these  delays  is  especially  noticeable  during  hot  weather, 
often  resulting  in  many  yeasty  and  foamy  cans.  Unless  suitable 


BUYING  MII,K  AND  CREAM  59 

and  adequate  provision  is  made  for  the  prompt  cooling  and  keep- 
ing cool  of  the  cream  at  the  concentration  point,  such  cream  is 
difficult  to  handle  when  it  arrives  at  the  creamery  and  is  liable 
to  depreciate  the  quality  of  the  butter. 

The  concentration  point  also  has  to  deal  with  losses  of  but- 
terfat  due  to  shortages  between  its  tests  and  the  creamery  tests 
and  due  to  spilling.  This,  together  with  the  high  prices  paid 
for  this  cream,  often  renders  the  cost  of  the  butterfat  unduly 
high  and  the  manufacture  of  butter  from  it  unprofitable.  In 
short  the  concentration  point,  similar  to  the  cream  station,  tends 
to  increase  the  cost  of  the  finished  butter  and  to  lower  its  quality. 

Management  of  the  Patron. — The  patron  is  the  foundation 
of  the  creamery,  business  in  a  similar  sense  as  the  cow  is  the 
foundation  of  the  dairy  business.  Without  patrons  there  is  no 
raw  material,  no  milk  and  cream,  and  without  raw  material 
there  can  be  no  butter.  The  management  of  the  patron  in  its 
fullest  sense  involves  the  successful  solution  of  the  following 
important  problems: 

% 

1.  The  creamery  must  satisfy  the  patron  with  the  price  he 
is  offered  for  his  butterfat  in   order  to  successfully  solicit  his 
business. 

It  is  reasonable  to  predict  that  the  policy  which,  in  the 
long  run  will  attract  and  satisfy  the  largest  number  of  patrons, 
and  that  will  stand  the  test  of  time,  is  for  the  creamery  to  pay 
the  highest  price  for  butterfat  possible,  consistent  with  a  well 
managed  and  legitimately  operated  business,  and  allowing  for 
a  reasonable  creamery  profit,  together  with  skill  in  salesmanship, 
perseverance  and  efficiency  of  service. 

2.  The   creamery   must   secure  the  patron's   confidence   in 
its  honesty  and   integrity  in   order  to  maintain  his  patronage. 
This  can  only  be  accomplished  by  honest  and  accurate  weights 
and  tests,   and  it  is  greatly   facilitated  by  giving  the  patron  the 
benefit  of  the  doubt  in  cases  of  controversies  where  there  is  no 
indication  of  intentional  dishonesty  on  the  part  of  the  patron. 

3.  The  creamery  must  interest  him  in,  and  enthuse  him  over, 
his  business  in  order  to  induce  him  to  produce  more  and   to 
improve  quality. 


60  CARE  c#  MILK  AND  CREAM  ON  FARM 

4.  The  creamery  must  educate  the  patron  in  larger  and  more 
economical  production  and  in  the  proper  'care  of  his  product. 
The  fundamental  lesson  in  better  care  of  cream  lies  in  cream 
grading  and  paying  on  the  basis  of  quality. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

CARE  OF  MILK  AND  CREAM  ON  THE  FARM 

The  cardinal  requisites  in  the  production  of  wholesome  and 
good-flavored  milk  and  cream  are : 

Healthy  cows  and  attendants. 

Wholesome  feed  and  pure  water. 

Absence  of  feeds  and  weeds  that  produce  objectionable 
flavors  and  odors. 

Reasonable  attention  to  cleanliness. 

Prompt  cooling. 

Frequent  deliveries. 

Protection  in  transportation. 

Milk  from  Healthy  Cows  and  Attendants. — Milk  from  cows 
suffering  from  specific  bovine  diseases,  such  as  tuberculosis,  foot 
and  mouth  disease,  infectious  abortion,  udder  diseases,  etc.,  is  un- 
safe for  consumption  and  manufacture  because  of  its  danger  of 
containing  the  germs  of  these  diseases.  Milk  or  cream  from  such 
cows  jeopardizes  the  health  and  life  of  the  consumer,  unless 
rendered  harmless  by  proper  pasteurization. 

Cows  that  suffer  from  specific  disease,  and  cows  that  are 
in  poor  physical  condition  such  as  often  is  the  case  with  cows, 
poorly  fed,  fed  unwholesome  feed,  that  receive  polluted 
water,  or  cows  suffering  from  inclement  weather  or  that  are 
pestered  with  flies  or  other  insects,  or  cows  that  are  in  feverish 
condition,  may  and  often  do  produce  milk  with  abnormal 
chemical  and  physiological  properties,  which  in  themselves  may 
be  harmful  to  the  consumer  or  which  may  impair  the  flavor  and 
marketable  properties  of  the  product. 

Milk  secretion  is  a  physiological  function.  If  this  function 
is  abnormal  the  properties  of  the  resulting  product — milk — may 
also  be  and  often  are  abnormal.  Any  condition  which  materially 
disturbs  the  physiological  functions  of  the  animal,  therefore,  is 


CARK  OF  MII,K  AND  CREAM  ON  FARM  61 

prone  also  to  disturb  the  healthfulness  and  the  chemical  and 
physiological  character  of  the  milk  and  the  products  manu- 
factured from  it. 

It  is  obvious  that,  if  milk  and  its  products  are  to  be  free 
from  germs  of  infectious,  or  contagious  human  disease,  the  at- 
tendants of  the  cows  must  be  in  healthy  condition  and  must  not 
associate  with  persons  suffering  from  such  diseases.  The  use  of 
water  for  washing  and  rinsing  milk  utensils,  that  comes  from  a 
polluted  well,  or  similar  source  of  infection,  further  jeopardizes 
the  safety  of  milk. 

Proper  Feed  and  Water. — Outside  of  the  unfavorable  effect 
of  moldy  and  decayed  feed  on  the  health  of  the  cows,  such  feeds 
are  prone  to  impart  to  milk  and  its  products  undesirable  flavors 
characteristic  of  these  defects.  Thus  moldy  straw  and  hay, 
moldy  or  sour  silage  and  grain,  decayed  roots,  etc.,  lend  milk  and 
its  products  objectionable  flavors  which  injure  their  market  value. 

Certain  feeds,  when  fed  in  excessive  quantities,  such  as 
silage,  rye  pasture,  beets,  turnips,  cabbage,  etc.,  give  milk,  cream 
and  butter,  flavors  which  are  not  desired.  The  danger  from 
these  feed  flavors  may  be  greatly  minimized  by  feeding  such 
feeds,  four  to  six  hours  before  milking. 

Certain  weeds,  especially  wild  onions,  garlic  and  leeks,  im- 
part to  milk,  cream  and  butter  a  most  intense  and  obnoxious 
onion  flavor,  which  is  very  difficult  to  remove  from  these  prod- 
ucts. These  flavors  usually  appear  in  milk  and  cream  in  Spring 
and  Fall,  due  to  the  cows  having  access  to  pastures  which  are 
infested  with  these  weeds,  at  a  time  when  the  pastures  are  not 
sufficiently  advanced,  or  have  dried  up  too  much,  to  satisfy  the 
cows,  causing  them  to  feed  on  anything  green  they  can  find. 
The  surest  way  to  prevent  this  flavor  in  milk,  cream  and 
butter  is  to  completely  eradicate  these  weeds  from  the  pastures 
by  burning,  plowing  up  and  rotation  of  crops  as  recommended  by 
the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  Farmers'  Bulletin  610. 
When  this  is  not  possible  the  removal  of  the  cows  from  such 
pastures  either  to  garlic-free  pastures  or  to  the  barn-yard,  from 
4  to  6  hours  before  milking  them,  will  greatly  minimize  this 
objectionable  flavor  in  milk,  cream  and  butter. 


62  CARE  OF  MILK  AND  CREAM  ON  FARM 

Cleanliness. — Filth  and  manure,  when  they  gain  access  to 
milk  and  cream,  pollute  these  products  with  their  re- 
spective odors  and  flavors.  They  further  contaminate  them  with 
diverse  species  of  bacteria,  which  ferment  the  product,  decompos- 
ing one  or  more  of  its  ingredients,  producing  objectionable  odors 
and  flavors  and  yielding  ferments,  such  as  enzymes,  which  in  turn 
have  the  power  of  decomposing  the  product  and  deteriorating  it 
in  storage. 

In  order  to  avoid  unnecessary  contamination  of  milk,  cream 
and  butter,  these  products  should  be  produced  and  handled  under 
cleanly  conditions.  The  barnyard  should  be  kept  dry  and  free 
from  manure  so  that  the  cows  are  not  compelled  to  wade  knee- 
deep  in  mud  before  they  enter  the  stable.  The  stable  must  be 
kept  free  from  abnormal  accumulation  of  dirt,  and  manure ;  the 
manure  must  be  removed  at  least  once  daily;  the  bedding  must 
be  clean  and  the  stable  must  be  sufficiently  ventilated  to  eliminate 
strong  animal  and  manure  odors;  the  floors  should  be  sprinkled 
with  Avater  before  sweeping  and  the  sweeping  must  be  done 
several  hours  before  milking,  so  as  to  give  the  dust  in  the  air 
a  chance  to  settle  before  the  milk  is  exposed  to  the  stable  air. 

The  cows  must  be  kept  clean,  by  preventing  them  from 
lying  down  on  a  filthy  floor  and  their  udder  and  flanks  should  be 
wiped  off  with  a  clean,  damp  cloth  before  milking  commences ; 
the  currying  of  the  cows  should  be  done  after  and  not  before 
milking. 

The  milker  must  be  embued  with  a  sufficient  sense  of  clean- 
liness and  decency,  to  milk  with  clean,  dry  hands  and  to  protect 
the  milk  from  undue  contamination  with  dust,  dirt  and  other 
impurities. 

If  machine  milking  is  practised  the  teat  cups  and  rubber 
tubes  should  be  thoroughly  washed  and  soaked  between  milk- 
ings  in  a  solution  of  a  suitable  disinfectant,  and  the  pulsators, 
pails  and  acceessories  must  be  regularly  washed  and  scalded. 

The  utensils  must  be  clean  and  as  nearly  sterile  as  possible. 
For  this  all  pails,  dippers,  strainers,  coolers,  etc.^should  be  rinsed 
with  cold  or  luke  warm  water,  washed  thoroughly  with  hot 
water,  containing  some  washing  powder  and  then  scalded  with 
boiling  hot  water,  or  steamed  if  steam  is  available, 


CARE  OF  MILK  AND -CREAM  ON  FARM 


63 


Cleanliness  of  Separator. — The  cream  separator  is  a  collector 
of  many  of  the  impurities  contained  in  milk.  These  impurities 
are  found  in  the  separator  slime  which  deposits  on  the  wall  and 
between  the  internal  contrivances  of  the  bowl.  The  separator 
slime  consists  largely  of  viscous  nitrogenous  matter  contained  in 
the  milk,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  dust,  dirt  and  bacteria 
which  may  have  reached  the  milk  during  its  process  of  produc- 
tion. In  addition  to  the  separator  slime,  the  bowl,  at  the  end 
of  the  separation,  contains  remnants  of  milk,  skim  milk  and 
cream,  all  of  which  are  prone  to  decompose  and  ferment  unless 
removed  promptly.  If  not  washed  and  freed  from  all  these  im- 
purities and  remnants  of  milk  of  the  previous  separation,  the 

separator  bowl  becomes  a 
seat  of  contamination  and 
the  source  of  unclean,  un- 
wholesome and  filthy 
cream,  the  disastrous  con- 
sequences of  which  no 
subsequent  care  or  treat- 
ment of  •  the  cream  can 
overcome.  Not  only 
should  the  separator  bowl 
be  washed  after  each  sep- 
aration, but  the  washing 
must  be  thorough.  The 
most  aggravated  cases  of 
unsanitary  and  unclean 
cream,  result  from  the  use 
of  separators,  the  bowls  of 
which  are  never  washed  en- 
Tig.  2.  TMS  bowl  was  flushed  after  use.  if  tirely  clean  and,  while  no 
not  taken  apart  and  washed  it  will  toe  j  amount  of  filth  is  left 

foul-smelling-  at  the  next  separation 

on  them,  they  contain  just 

enough  of  old  and  decomposing  matter  to  expose  the  cream  of 
each  separation  to  bad  odors  and  to  infection  with  germs  capable 
of  producing  very  undesirable  fermentions  and  flavors,  which  are 
responsible  for  butter  of  inferior  quality. 

How  to  Wash  the  Separator. — After  each  separation  flush 
out  the  bowl,  while  still  running,  thoroughly  with  water  until 


64  CARE  OF  MIIJC  A-ND  CREAM  ON  FARM 

the  discharge  from  the  skim  milk  spout  is  clear.  This  removes 
most  of  the  remnants  of  milk  and  cream  and  loosens  the  separa- 
tor slime  in  the  bowl,  making  subsequent  washing  easy.  Take 
the  bowl  apart  and  wash  with  brush  and  hot  water  containing 
some  good  washing  powder  or  other  alkali,  all  parts  of  the  bowl, 
bowl  cover,  discharge  spouts,  float,  supply  tank  and  buckets. 
Rinse  them  with  scalding  hot  water  and  steam  them  if  steam 
is  available.  Allow  them  to  drain  in  a  clean  place,  protected  from 


rig-.  3.    Bowl  immediately  after  separation 

dust  and  flies.     All  other  milk   utensils  should   receive  similar 
treatment.     Do  this  after  each  separation. 

A  clean  separator  will  also  skim  more*  closely,  as  ex- 
plained in  the  chapter  on  the  separation  of  milk,  and  the  sep- 
arator will  last  longer,  because  the  acids  formed  by  the  decompos- 
ing impurities  in  the  bowl  tend  to  corrode  the  bowl  and  internal 
contrivances  and  to  shorten  the  life  of  the  separator. 

Care  of  Cream  After  Separation. — The  cream  should  always 
be  cooled  immediately  as  it  comes  from  the  separator.  The  com- 
mon practise  of  placing  the  cream  in  the  cellar  for  this  purpose 
is  undesirable.  Cream  so  stored  is  prone  to  contain  a  so-called 
cellar  odor,  which  is  antagonistic  to  the  flavor  of  good  butter. 


CARE  OF  MILK  AND  CREAM  ON  FARM  65 

Again,  by  setting  the  cream  can  or  crock  in  the  cellar,  the  cooling 
will  be  slow  and  not  rapid  enough  to  insure  good  flavor.  The 
animal  heat  in  it,  unless  removed  by  prompt  cooling,  gives  it  a 
peculiar  smothered  flavor  which  often  follows  the  cream  into  the 
butter. 

The  warm  cream  is  in  ideal  condition  for  bacterial  decompo- 
sition and  spoiling.  If  promptly  and  properly  cooled  the  activity 
of  the  bacteria  and  other  ferments  is  retarded,  if  not  entirely 
checked,  and  the  cream  will  keep  sweet  and  in  good  condition 
for  a  reasonable  length  of  time.  The  lower  the  temperature  to 
which  it  is  cooled,  the  longer  will  it  keep  in  normal  condition. 
Cooling  to  the  temperature  of  the  water  available  on  the  average 
farm  alone  greatly  retards  bacterial  action.  The  cream  should 
be  cooled  at  once  after  it  leaves  the  separator.  The  beneficial 
effect  then  is  greatest.  If  the  cooling  is  delayed  until  fermenta- 
tions have  commenced,  the  life  of  the  cream  is  greatly  shortened ; 
for  once  started,  fermentations  are  checked  with  difficulty. 

When  promptly  cooled  and  frequently  stirred,  the  cream  re- 
mains in  proper  mechanical  condition  so  that  it  can  be  readily 
transferred  without  excessive  loss  due  to  sticking  to  the  can. 
This  also  makes  possible  the  taking  of  representative  samples 
therefrom,  which  in  turn  is  the  foundation  for  accurate  tests.  One 
of  the  fundamental  causes  of  irregular  and  incorrect  cream  tests 
lies  in  the  poor  mechanical  condition  of  the  cream  when  sampled. 
It  is  difficult  to  take  a  correct  sample  from  cream  that  has  not 
been  cooled  promptly  and  properly,  nor  stirred  frequently,  or 
that  is  otherwise  in  poor  condition. 

How  to  Cool  Cream. — The  only  practical  way  to  cool  cream 
promptly  and  to  successfully  control  the  temperature  under  aver- 
age farm  conditions  is  to  set  the  cream  cans  in  a  properly  in- 
sulated tank  filled  with  cold  water.  The  heat  conductivity  of 
water  is  twenty  one  times  as  great  as  that  of  air.  This  means 
that  by  setting  the  cans  in  water  the  cream  will  be  cooled  twenty 
one  times  as  fast  as  by  letting  them  stand  in  the  air  at  the 
same  temperature.  The  tank  used  for  cooling  the  cream  should 
be  deep  enough  to  allow  the  water  to  cover  the  cans  at  least 
as  far  up  as  the  cream  will  reach  when  the  can  is  full.  It  should 


66 


CARE:  OF  MIT^K  AND  CREAM  ON  FARM 


Fig*.  4.     A  practical  cream  cooling*  tank 

Courtesy  of  Independent  Silo  Co. 


be  large  enough  to  hold 
a  sufficient  body  of  water 
to  avoid  too  rapid  warm- 
ing up  of  the  water  when 
the  tank  is  opened  in  hot 
weather.  It  should  be 
sufficiently  insulated  to 
hold  the  temperature 
within  a  few  degrees  for 
eight  to  twelve  hours.  It 
should  provide  for  one 
can  for  the  warm  cream 
and  one  can  for  the  cooled 
cream  ;warm  cream  should 
never  be  poured  into  cold 
cream.  The  warm  cream 
should  be  cooled  first  before  mixing  with  the  cold  cream,  other- 
wise the  mixture  will  spoil  rapidly.  Aside  from  cooling  the 
cream  and  keeping  it  cool,  the  cream  cooling  tank  furnishes  a 
desirable  place  for  the  storage  of  cream,  protecting  it  against 
contaminating  odors,  dust,  dirt,  flies,  gnats  and  rodents.  The 
cream  should  be  covered  so  as  to  prevent  these  contamina- 
tions. Cream  stored  in  the  cellar,  the  dry  pit,  or  other  similar 
places  may  become  infected  with  insects  and  other  life,  that 
render  it  unfit  for  any  purpose.  The  same  precautions  should 
be  taken  in  the  storage  of  milk. 

There  are  now  available  on  the  market  numerous  suitable 
and  practical  cream  cooling'  tanks  for  this  purpose.  The  use  of 
these  tanks,  not  only  helps  to  preserve  the  quality  of  the  cream, 
but  it  also  simplifies  and  economizes  the  labor  of  handling  the 
cream. 

Age  of  Cream. — Generally  speaking,  the  closer  the  churn  is 
placed  to  the  cow,  the  better  the  prospects  of  a  high  quality  of 
butter. 

Cream  is  a  highly  perishable  product.  Like  other  similar 
food  products  it  is  best  when  fresh  and  should,  therefore,  be 
marketed,  or  used  for  manufacture,  as  early  as  possible  after 


CARE:  OF  Miuc  AND  CREAM  ON  FARM  67 

it  escapes  from  the  separator.  Age  will  gradually  deteriorate 
cream  under  any  condition.  While  proper  care  retards  such 
deterioration  it  cannot  entirely  prevent  it,  hence,  if  intended 
for  the  sweet-cream  trade  it  should  be  delivered  daily;  if 
butter  is  made  on  the  farm  the  churning  should  be  sufficiently 
frequent  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  using  stale  cream.  If  sent 
to  the  creamery,  deliveries  should  be  made  two  to  three  times 
per  week  or  oftener.  Excessive  age  of  cream  is  one  of  the  arch 
enemies  of  the  butter  industry,  because  it  paralizes  largely  all 
other  efforts  to  improve  the  quality  of  the  butter. 

Protection  of  Cream  in  Transit. — The  cream  cans  should  be 
kept  in  the  cooling  tank  until  they  leave  the  farm.  While  on 
the  road  they  should  be  properly  protected  against  excessive 
heat  in  summer  and  cold  in  winter.  While  hauled  to  the 
creamery  or  station  this  may  be  effectively  done  by  covering  the 
cans  with  a  wet  blanket  in  summer  and  a  dry  blanket  in  winter. 
For  shipping  long  distances  the  use  of  insulated  cans,  or  cans  over 
which  a  jacket  has  been  slipped,  is  desirable.  In  the  absence 
of  this  practise  a  tank  with  cool  water  should  be  provided  at  the 
station  in  the  summer  and  the  cream  should  be  shipped  in  iced 
cars  during  the  hot  summer  months.  These  precautions  are  as 
yet  very  largely  ignored,  both  by  the  shipper  and  by  the  railway 
and  express  companies  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that,  with  the  future 
development  and  more  intensive  practises  of  cream  transporta- 
tion, this  important  phase  may  receive  its  due  share  of  attention. 

Another  feature  of  transportation  which  has  had  an  un- 
iavorable  influence  on  quality,  is  the  difficulty  of  insuring  a 
prompt  return  of  the  empty  cans  to  the  farmer.  For  reasons 
which  have  not  as  yet  been  satisfactorily  explained,  the  return 
of  the  empties  has  been  consistently  neglected  by  some  trans- 
portation companies,  causing  these  cans  to  reach  the  farmer 
frequently  after  weeks  of  delays  and  misshipment.  The  empty 
can  should  receive  the  same  attention  as  the  full  can.  It  should 
be  considered  perishable  merchandise,  for  if  it  is  not  returned 
to  the  farmer  promptly,  he  has  no  means  to  ship  the  cream  which 
has  been  accumulating-  on  the  farm,  causing  this  cream  to  spoil. 


68  THE:  SEPARATION  OF  MH,K 

CHAPTER  V. 
THE  SEPARATION  OF  MILK. 

Purpose. — The  purpose  of  separating  milk  is  to  obtain 
cream.  Cream  is  that  portion  of  milk  which  contains  a  relatively 
large  proportion  of  its  butterfat.  In  order  to  comply  with  the 
legal  Federal  standard,  cream  must  contain  not  less  than  18 
per  cent  of  butter  fat. 

The  chief  objects  of  using  cream  for  butter  making,  instead 
of  churning  milk,  are  first  to  reduce  the  volume  of  the  fluid  to  be 
churned  and  therefore  to  increase  the  capacity  of  the  churn  and 
to  reduce  the  labor  and  expense  of  churning;  second  to  facilitate 
the  speed  of  churning;  the  richer  the  fluid  is  in  butter  fat,  the 
more  readily  do  the  fat  globules  unite  into  granules  and  the 
shorter  the  time  required  for  churning;  third  to  increase  the  ex- 
haustiveness  of  churning;  milk  or  thin  cream  do  not  churn  out 
exhaustively,  because  the  large  volume  of  intervening  liquid  pre- 
vents many  of  the  fat  globules,  especially  the  small  ones,  from 
uniting,  thereby  causing  a  relatively  large  number  of  these 
globules  to  remain  unchurned,  to  pass  into  the  buttermilk  and 
to  result  in  excessive  loss  of  fat  and  a  correspondingly  small 
churn  yield.  The  churning  of  milk  and  thin  cream  further  aug- 
ments the  loss  of  fat  because  it  yields  large  volumes  of  butter 
milk,  thereby  increasing  the  pounds  of  fat  lost. 

Aside  from  the  advantages  of  churning  cream  instead  of 
milk,  large  volumes  of  cream  are  separated  for  purposes  other 
than  buttermaking,  such  as  for  table  use,  ice  cream  making,  the 
manufacture  of  whipped  cream,  etc. 

Principle  of  Separation. — The  separation  of  cream  from  milk 
is  based  on  the  principle  that  the  butter  fat  is  lighter  than  the 
other  constituents  of  milk.  At  60  degrees  F.  the  specific  gravity 
of  average  milk  is  about  1.032,  that  of  butterfat  about  .93  and 
that  of  skim  milk  about  1.037.  The  fat  globules,  containing  the 
butterfat,  therefore,  yield  to  the  gravity  force  and  rise  to  the 
surface. 

The  principal  agent  retarding  or  preventing  their  upward 
passage  is  the  viscosity  of  the  milk,  which  is  largely  due  to  its 


THE  SEPARATION  OF  Miuc  69 

albuminoids,  the  casein,  albumin,  fibrin,  globulin  and  other 
similar  constituents  of  a  colloid  nature  inherent  in  milk  and 
cream,  and  to  the  milk  sugar.  If  the  viscosity  of  milk  were  no 
greater  than  that  of  water,  the  fat  globules  would  rise  to  the 
surface  instantaneously  in  a  similar  manner  as  oil  poured 
into  water  rises  to  the  surface. 

In  the  separation  of  cream  considerable  portions  of  the 
water  and  of  the  non-fatty  solids  of  the  milk  are  carried  into 
the  cream.  Generally  speaking,  the  relation  of  solids  not  fat 
to  water  in  the  cream  is  approximately  the  same  as  it  is  in  milk. 
The  per  cent  of  solids  not  fat  in  cream,  however,  is  lower  than 
the  per  cent  of  solids  not  fat  in  milk,  it  varies  inversely  with  the 
per  cent  of  fat.  The  higher  the  per  cent  of  fat,  the  lower  the 
per  cent  of  solids  not  fat.  For  further  details  on  the  composi- 
tion of  cream  see  "Composition  of  Cream,"  Chapter  XVIII. 

Methods  of  Separation. — The  separation  of  milk,  as  practiced 
on  the  farm  and  in  the  factory,  is  accomplished  either  by  gravity 
or  by  centrifugal  force.  In  the  application  of  these  two  funda- 
mental systems  of  separation  the  following  methods  are  used : 

shallow  pan  method 


Gravity  separation 


deep-setting  method 


~  ,   farm  cream  separator 

Centrifugal  separation  ' 


water-dilution  (or  hydraulic)  method 

|  power  cream  separator 
Separation  by  Gravity. — The  milk  is  set  at  rest  in  a  cool 
place  until  most  of  the  fat  has  risen  to  the  surface  forming  a 
layer  of  cream.  The  fat  globules  rise  to  the  surface  because  of 
the  fact  that  they  are  lighter  than  the  other  liquid  and  solid  con- 
stituents'of  the  milk. 

The  Shallow  Pan  Method.— The  milk,  preferably  fresh  from 
the  cow,  is  poured  into  a  shallow  pan  usually,  though  not  neces- 
sarily, 15  to  25  inches  in  diameter  and  about  4  inches  deep.  The 
pan  is  placed  into  a  cool  place,  such  as  the  cellar  or  it  -may  be 
set  in  water.  After  36  hours  practically  all  of  the  fat  capable  of 
rising  to  the  surface  by  this  method  will  have  come  to  the  sur- 
face and  the  layer  of  cream  thus  formed  is  then  skimmed  off  with 
a  spoon,  ladle  or  specially  constructed  skimmer.  The  skim  milk 
usually  contains  about  .5  to  .6  per  cent  fat. 


70  CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION 

The  Deep-setting  Method. — The  milk,  preferably  fresh  from 
the  cow,  is  poured  into  a  can  of  the  "shot-gun"  type,  about  8 
to  10  inches  in  diameter  and  18  to  25  inches  deep.  This  can  is 
placed  in  cold  water  and  held  at  as  low  a  temperature  as  possible. 
Temperatures  between  45  degrees  F.  and  the  freezing  point  of 
water  are  preferable.  At  the  end  of  24  hours  the  separation  is 
usually  as  complete  as  it  is  possible  to  secure  by  this  method  of 
separation.  The  removal  of  the  cream  thus  separated  is  most 
conveniently  accomplished  by  drawing  the  skim  milk  from  a 
faucet  at  the  bottom  of  the  can,  leaving  about  one  inch  of  skim 
milk  in  the  can.  The  skim  milk  should  be  drawn  off  slowly  in 
order  to  avoid  currents  which  cause  a  portion  of  the  cream  to  be 
drawn  into  the  skimmilk.  In  the  case  of  cans  without  faucets  the 
cream  is  removed  with  a  dipper  from  the  top.  The  skim  milk, 
under  proper  conditions  of  creaming,  averages  about  .2  to  .3  per 
cent  fat. 

The  Water-Dilution  Method.— The  milk  is  diluted  with  equal 
parts  of  clean  water,  usually  at  about  100  degrees  F.  and  set  in 
a  cool  place  for  12  hours,  when  it  is  ready  to  be  skimmed. 
The  skim  milk  is  drawn  from  the  bottom  of  the  can.  The 
great  rapidity  of  the  separation  by  this  method  is  due  to  the 
lesser  viscosity  of  the  diluted  milk  which  permits  the  fat  globules 
to  rise  more  readily  to  the  surface.  The  skim  milk  generally 
contains  from  .3  to  .4  per  cent  fat,  but  since  it  is  diluted  to  twice 
its  volume  with  water,  the  actual  loss  of  fat  in  the  original  skim 
milk  is  .6  to  .8  per  cent. 

CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION 

Definition. — In  centrifugal  separation  the  centrifugal  force 
generated  in  a  rapidly  revolving  bowl  takes  the  place  of  the 
gravity  force  acting  on  milk  in  a  vessel  at  rest.  By  centrifugal 
force,  in  the  sense  used  here,  is  understood  the  force  which 
causes  a  body,  revolving  around  a  center  point,  to  fly  from  the 
center.  As  a  simple  illustration  of  this  may  be  mentioned  the 
pull  which  is  felt  when  a  weight  attached  to  a  string  is  whirled 
about  the  hand.  The  pull  is  caused  by  the  tendency  of  the  con- 
centrally  moving  weight  to  fly  outward  and  the  pull  increases  in 
force,  the  longer  the  string  and  the  faster  the  weight  is  whirled. 


CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION  71 

The  discus  throw  of  the  athlete  is  a  concrete  example  of  the  cause 
and  effect  of  the  centrifugal  force.  The  centrifugal  force  acts  on 
liquids  as  well  as  on  solid  bodies. 

The  Theory  of  Centrifugal  Separation. — The  separation  of 
the  cream  from  milk  in  the  centrifugal  separator  is  based  on  the 
well  known  physical  law  that  when  liquids  of  different  specific 
gravities  revolve  around  the  same  center,  at  the  same  distance, 
and  with  the  same  speed,  the  greater  force  is  generated  by  the 
heavier  liquid  than  by  the  lighter.  Milk,  as  already  stated,  con- 
sists of  two  liquids  of  different  specific  gravities,  the  fat  particles 
and  the  milk  serum.  The  milk  enters  the  rapidly  revolving  bowl 
either  at  the  top,  middle  or  at, the  bottom  of  the  bowl.  In  most 
separators  it  runs  first  through  a  central  tube  which  carries  it 
to  the  middle  or  bottom  before  it  is  discharged  into  the  bowl.  In 
the  case  of  a  bowl  not  in  motion  the  milk  fills  the  bowl  from, 
the  bottom  up  due  to  the  force  of  gravity.  When  the  bowl  is 
rapidly  revolving  the  force  of  gravity  is  overcome  by  the  cen- 
trifugal force  which  is  over  a  thousand  times  greater  than  the 
gravity  force.  The  milk  is  therefore  thrown  immediately  to  the 
periphery  or  side  of  the  bowl,  filling  the  bowl  from  the  side  to 
the  center. 

While  both  liquids,  the  fat  particles  and  the  milk  serum,  are 
forced  to  the  bowl  wall,  the  heavier  liquid,  which  is  the  skim 
milk,  is  driven  from  the  center  with  greater  force  than  the 
lighter  liquid  which  is  the  fat  particles.  The  skim  milk  thus 
forms  a  vertical  wall  enveloping  the  side  of  the  bowl.  As  the 
result  of  this  separation  the  fat  globules,  which  are  uniformly 
distributed  in  the  milk  before  it  is  subjected  to  the  centrifugal 
force,  separate  .from  the  skim  milk  and,  through  a  recurrent 
motion,  are  crowded  toward  the  center  of  the  bowl,  where  they 
accumulate  in  a  vertical  layer  of  cream,  in  a  similar  way  as 
they  gather  on  the  surface  of  the  milk  by  gravity  creaming.  It 
is  obvious,  therefore,  that  the  least  fat  is  found  near  the  periphery 
of  the  bowl  and  the  most  fat  is  found  near  the  center  of  the  bowl. 

As  more  milk  flows  into  the  bowl,  the  vertical  wall  of  skim 
milk  and  cream  expands  in  thickness,  filling  up  the  larger  por- 
tion of  the  bowl.  In  most  types  of  bowls,  operated  under  normal 
conditions,  the  milk  never  fills  the  entire  bowl,  a  vacant  space 


72 


CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION 


being  left  in  the  center.  The  vertical  wall  of  milk  in  the  bowl 
increases  until  the  discharge  from  the  skim  milk  outlet  and  that 
from  the  cream  outlet  equal  the  rate  of  inflow  of  milk  to  the  bowl. 

The  intensity  of  the  centrifugal  force  is  controlled  by  three 
fundamental  factors ;  namely  the  speed  and  diameter  of  the  bowl 
and  the  weight  of  the  contents.  It  increases  in  proportion  as  the 
weight  of  the  contents  of  the  bowl  and  the  diameter  of  the  bowl 
increases,  and  also  with  the  square  of  the  number  of  revolutions 
per  minute.  Lamson1  calculated  the  centrifugal  force  factor  for 
numerous  farm  separators  as  shown  in  the  succeeding  table. 
His  calculations  are  based  on  the  following  formula: 

Fc=WD   (R.  P.  M.)2.000014208  in  which 

Fc= Centrifugal  force 

W= Weight  expressed  in  pounds 

D=Inside  diameter  of  bowl  expressed  in  inches 

R.  P.  M.=Revolutions  per  minute. 

In  all  of  the  computations,  the  weight  was  figured  as  one 
pound,  since  a  comparison  only  of  the  centrifugal  force  factors 
was  desired. 

Table  4. — Centrifugal  Force  Factor  when  Revolutions  per  Minute 
and  Diameter  of  Separator  Bowl  in  Inches  are  known. 


Name   of   Separator 

Revolutions 
per 
Minute 

Diameter 
in 
Inches 

Centrifugal 
Force    Factor, 
Calculated 

Galloway         

7500.0 

4.6780 

3738.7 

Economy  King  

8378.0 

3.9630 

3952.2 

Dairy  Queen       

8160.0 

4,2500 

4020.7 

John   M    Smythe     

8220.0 

4.2500 

4080.0 

United   States    
New  Butterfly 

9336.8 
9145.0 

3.4500 
3.7187 

4273.2 
4418.7 

De  Laval      

82243 

46325 

4451.9 

Primrose   

89930 

41670 

4788.1 

Anker-Holth    

92007 

40050 

4817.0 

Renfrew    

8980.2 

45550 

5219.1 

Empire  

101484 

3*7150 

5436.1 

Iowa 

104490 

41970 

6510.6 

Sharpies    . 

16533.9 

2.0000 

7768.1 

1  Lamson. — A  Study  of  Farm  Separators.     M.   S.  A.  Thesis,  Purdue  Uni- 
versity,   1918. 


CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION  73 

Construction  of  the  Separator. — The  centrifugal  cream  sep- 
arator consists  of  three  main  parts,  namely  the  separator  frame, 
the  bowl  with  internal  devices,  supply  tank  and  discharge  pans, 
the  gear  and  power  attachment. 


SANITARY  FAUCE 


BALANCED  FLOAT 


PATENTED  FOAM 

REDUCING  DISCHARGE- 


SELF  CENTERING  BOWL 


DETACHED  BOWL 

COUPLING  RING 


SIGHT  FEED 
OIL  SUPPLY 


IMPROVED"DE  LAVAL' 

SEPARATING  DISCS 


EXTRA  HEAVY  TINWARE 
SIMPLE  CREAM  REGULATOR 
COVER  CLAMP 


PATENTED  MILK 
DISTRIBUTOR 


BOWL  HOLDING  SCREW 


AMPLE  DIRT  HOLDING  SPACE 
BOWL  CASING  DRAIN 


DETACHED  BOWL  SPINDLE 

(REMAINING  IN  FRAME) 


AUTOMATIC  SPRAY 
OILING  OF  GEARING 
AND  BEARINGS 


OIL  DRAIN 


HEAVY  PART  OF  BOWL 
BELOW  CENTER  OF  GRAVITY 


SECTIONAL  SPRING 

SPINDLE  BEARING 


SPEED  INDICATOR 


UPWARD  THRUST 

WORM  DRIVE  GEARING 


SPRING  CUSHIONED  STEEL  POINT 
AND  TREAD  WHEEL  BEARING 


OPEN  SANITARY  BASE 


Pig-.  5.    De  Laval  cream  separator 

Courtesy  De  Laval  Separator  Co. 

The  Separator  Frame. — The  frame  of  the  separator  furnishes 
the  foundation  and  support  of  all  important  parts  of  the  machine, 
it  also  serves  to  guide  and  protect  the  bowl  and  its  spindle.  It 
is  of  heavy  construction,  usually  of  cast  iron  and,  in  order  to 
give  the  machine  greater  stability,  it  often  extends  at  its  bottom 
into  a  solid  platform.  The  base  of  the  frame  carries  in  the  case 
of  most  separators  the  bottom  bearing  of  the  spindle  which  drives 
the  bowl.  This  bearing  is  generally  equipped  with  an  adjustable 


74  CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION 

screw  whereby  the  bowl  may  be  lowered  or  raised  in  its  position 
in  the  frame.  It  also  carries  brass  bushings  at  the  bottom  and 
top  of  the  spindle  which  serve  to  guide  the  position  of  the  spindle 
and  to  keep  the  bowl  from  wobbling.  The  upper  portion  of  the 
frame  protects  the  bowl  and  serves  as  support  for  the  pans  into 
which  the  skim  milk  and  cream  are  discharged.  In  the  case 
of  hand  separators  the  frame  is  also  equipped  with  supports  for 
the  milk  supply  tank,  and  for  the  skim  milk  and  cream  cans. 

The  Separator  Bowl  and  Spindle. — The  bowl  is  the  heart  of 
the  separator,  in  it  the  separation  of  the  milk  takes  place.  In 
most  separators  now  in  use  the  bowl  extends  at  its  lower  ex- 
tremity into  the  spindle  to  which  is  transmitted,  either  direct  or 
indirect,  the  motive  power  which  revolves  the  bowl.  In  some 
separators  the  bowl  and  the  spindle  are  one  piece  while  in  others 
the  spindle  is  divided  into  an  upper  and  lower  spindle,  connected 
by  an  offset  in  the  contact  end  of  each,  or  by  a  slot  in  one  and 
a  slot  and  pin  in  the  other.  Occasionally  the  bowl  is  entirely 
separated  from  the  spindle,  connecting  with  the  top  of  the  spindle. 
Then,  again,  there  are  separators  in  which  the  bowl  is  attached 
to  the  spindle  by  a  permanent  hinge  joint.  In  still  other  ma- 
chines the  bowl  is  suspended,  its  spindle  which  in  these  machines 
is  at  the  top  of  the  bowl,  is  coupled  to  an  overhanging  spindle 
head  connecting  with  the  seat  of  power. 

The  bearing  on  which  the  spindle  revolves  may  consist  of  a 
stationery  but  adjustable  steel  point  on  which  a  similar  steel 
point  at  the  termination  of  the  spindle  rests;  or  the  spindle  may 
terminate  in  a  tapering  disc  which,  rests  on  a  bearing  of  steel 
balls  or  steel  rollers.  The  spindle  is  guided  by  an  upper  and  a 
lower  brass  bushing.  The  ease  of  running  and  elasticity  of  the 
bowl  may  be  enhanced  by  the  use  of  bushings  equipped  with 
springs. 

The  bowl  proper  consists  in  the  main  of  a  cylindrical,  or 
cone-shaped  vessel.  It  opens  either  at  the  top  or  at  the  bot- 
tom. It  is  closed  by  a  coneshaped  cover.  At  the  point  of  con- 
tact with  the  cover  the  bowl  carries  a  groove  or  rim  which  admits 
a  rubber  ring.  This  serves  to  make  an  absolutely  tight  seal  be- 
tween bowl  and  cover,  without  which  the  pressure  generated  in 
the  revolving  bowl  causes  the  milk  to  leak  out.  The  cover  must 


CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION  75 

be  firmly  screwed  to  the  bowl  to  prevent  leaking.  In  the  case 
of  machines  with  suspended  bowls  the  cover  forms  the  bottom  of 
the  bowl  or  in  some  cases,  the  bowl  may  consist  of  two  nearly 
equal  halves  which  screw  together,  a  rubber  ring  furnishing  a 
tight  seal.  Most  bowls  also  carry  a  central  tube  through  which 
the  milk  enters,  flows  to  near  the  bottom  and  then  is  released 
for  distribution  and  separation. 

Experience  has  shown,  that  the  efficiency  of  separation  suf- 
fers when  the  milk  is  allowed  to  enter  the  separating  space  of 
the  bowl  by  continuously  passing  through  the  innermost  layer 
of  milk,  which  represents  the  cream  layer.  This  causes  a  con- 
stant mixing  of  the  fresh  milk  with  the  cream  layer.  To  avoid 
this  the  intake  of  the  milk  is  so  arranged  that  the  inflowing  milk 
passes  into  the  neutral  zone  of  the  milk  layer  outside  of  the  cream 
layer  without  passing  through  the  latter.  This  is  accomplished 
by  compelling  the  milk  to  flow  through  an  umbella-shaped  disc 
at  the  bottom  of  the  bowl  or  through  properly  located  slots  in 
the  central  tube  or  other  similar  devices  in  the  center  of  the  bowl. 

The  bowls  of  the  earlier  separators  were  hollow  in  their  in- 
terior. In  order  to  cause  the  milk  to  circulate  with  the  bowl  im- 
mediately upon  its  entrance,  these  bowls  were  equipped  at  their 
periphery  with  one  or  more  wings  extending  radially  to  near  the 
cream  layer.  In  the  newer  separators  most  of  the  bowls  carry 
a  series  of  internal  contrivances  which  not  only  assist  in  subject- 
ing the  milk  promptly  to  the  circular  motion,  but  increase  the 
skimming  efficiency  of  the  machine  further  by  exposing  the  milk 
over  a  longer  distance  to  the  centrifugal  force  and  by  facilitating 
the  return  of  the  fat  globules  to  the  cream  layer. 

Of  these  internal  contrivances  the  cone-shaped  discs  of  the 
Alpha  separator  are  the  oldest  and  best  known.  These  tin  discs 
are  slipped  over  the  central  tube  of  the  bowl  and  rest  on  top  of 
one  another.  They  leave  a  small  space  open  around  the  central 
tube  for  the  gathering  of  the  cream.  The  upper  surface  of  each 
of  these  discs  is  spotted  with  small  projections,  for  the  purpose 
of  keeping  the  discs  at  a  slight  distance  from  each  other.  These 
intervening  spaces  divide  the  milk,  in  its  passage  from  the  center 


76  CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION 

to  the  periphery  of  the  bowl,  into  very  thin  layers,  augmenting 
the  separating  efficiency. 

In  order  to  avoid  infringement  on  the  Alpha  De  Laval  patent 
of  discs,  other  manufacturers  have  constructed  a  large  assort- 
ment of  different  types  of  somewhat  similar  internal  contrivances, 
all  of  which  are  intended  for  the  same  purpose.  One  distinct 
deviation  from  the  horizontal  or  coneshaped  disc  is  the  vertical 
blade  arrangement  of  the  Simplex  separator  in  which  numerous 


Fig.  7.     Simplex  blades 

Courtesy  D.  H.  Burrell  &  Co. 


Fig-.  6.     Simplex  separator 
Courtesy  D.  H.  Burrell  &  Co. 

curved  tin  blades,  attached  to  a  ring  around  the  central  tube 
extend  from  the  central  tube  to  the  periphery  of  the  bowl.  These 
wings  or  blades,  similar  to  the  discs,  are  kept  at  a  slight  distance 
from  each  other  by  carrying  small  projections  on  their  surfaces 
and  in  this  way  divide  the  milk  into  a  multitude  of  very  thin 
layers. 

The  Skim  Milk  Outlet. — As  previously  stated,  the  layer  of 
milk  nearest  the  wall,  or  periphery  of  the  bowl,  contains  the  least 
fat  and  represents  the  skim  milk.  The  skim  milk  is  discharged 
either  from  the  top  or  from  the  bottom  of  the  bowl.  The  skim 
milk  flows  through  small  tubes  from  the  extreme  periphery  to 
near  the  center  of  the  bowl  where  it  is  discharged.  The  purpose 


CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION  77 

of  carrying  the  skim  milk  to  near  the  center  before  it  is  per- 
mitted to  escape  is  to  reduce  the  force  with  which  it  is  discharged. 
By  passing  toward  the  center  the  skim  milk  has  to  overcome  the 
centrifugal  force. 

These  skim  milk  outlet  tubes  are  very  small,  curved  and 
difficult  to  thoroughly  cleanse,  which  is  an  objectionable  feature 
from  the  sanitary  point  of  view.  In  the  latest  improved  models 
of  bowls  these  tubes  have  therefore  been  done  away  with.  This 
has  been  accomplished  by  covering  the  top-most  of  the  internal 
discs  with  a  special  closing  disc,  the  lower  edge  of  which  extends 
to  near  the  wall  of  the  bowl  and  the  upper  end  of  which  forms 
a  sleeve  extending  up  into  the  neck  of  the  bowl  cover.  This 
closing  disc  carries  sufficient  projections  on  its  upper  surface 
to  form  a  narrow  space  between  it  and  the  cover  of  the  bowl. 
The  skim  milk  passes  through  this  space  in  the  form  of  a  thin 
layer  and  leaves  the  bowl  through  a  small  opening,  the  skim  milk 
outlet,  located  at  the  bottom  of  the  neck  of  the  bowl  cover.  In 
some  makes  of  separators  the  skim  milk  is  discharged  through 
the  bottom  of  the  bowl. 

The  Cream  Outlet. — The  cream  finds  its  exit  from  the  bowl 
at,  or  near  the  top  of  the  bowl  cover.  Its  entrance  to  the  outlet 
is  located  slightly  nearer  the  center  than  the  centermost  part 
of  the  skim  milk  outlet.  In  most  separators  the  cream  outlet,  or 
cream  screw  is  adjustable.  If  the  cream  screw  is  located  in  the 
top  of  the  bowl  cover,  it  usually  carries  an  eccentric  orifice 
which  is  the  cream  outlet.  This  screw  may  be  turned  so  as 
to  place  the  opening  or  cream  outlet  nearer  to  or  farther  from 
the  center.  If  the  cream  screw  is  located  in  the  side  of  the  bowl 
neck,  the  distance  from  the  center  at  which  the  cream  escapes 
from  the  bowl  is  regulated  by  turning  this  screw  farther  in  or 
out.  In  the  case  of  'some  bowls  the  cream  outlet  is  stationary 
and  the  skim  milk  outlet  is  adjustable. 

Adjustment  of  Cream  Screw  to  Regulate  Proportion  of 
Skim  Milk  and  Cream  and  to  Control  Richness  of  Cream. — As 

previously  stated,  the  milk  in  the  revolving  bowl  is  forced  to 
the  side  of  the  bowl,  forming  a  vertical  wall.  The  inner  line 
of  the  milk  in  the  bowl  and  of  the  skim  milk  in  the  skim  milk 
tube,  or  skim  milk  space  forms  a  straight  vertical  line. 


78 


CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION 


As  more  milk  flows  into  the  bowl,  the  wall  of  milk  extends 
farther  toward  the  center  until  the  skim  milk  begins  to  discharge 
from  the  skim  milk  outlet.  As  the  inflow  of  milk  continues  the 
wall  of  milk  in  the  bowl  increases  in  thickness  until  the  cream 
begins  to  escape  through  the  cream  outlet.  Simultaneously  the 


Tig.  8.     Sharpies  cream  separator 
Courtesy  Sharpies  Separator  Co. 

discharge  of  the  skim  milk  increases.  When  the  discharge  of 
the  skim  milk  and  cream  outlets  equal  the  inflow  of  the  milk,  the 
thickness  of  the  wall  of  the  milk  in  the  bowl  becomes  constant. 
The  proportion  of  cream  to  skim  milk  in  any  given  separator 
is  controlled  directly  and  exclusively  by  the  relative  distances  of 
the  two  outlets  from  the  center  of  the  bowl,  assuming  that  the 
separator  is  operated  under  otherwise  normal  and  uniform  con- 
ditions. 


CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION  79 

The  assertion  of  some  authors  that  the  relative  amount  of 
skim  milk  and  cream  depends  in  part  on  the  size  of  the  outlets 
is  erroneous,  inasmuch  as  experimental  results  by  Ecles1  and 
Wayman  conclusively  show  that,  when  the  separator  is  run  nor- 
mally, the  volume  of  the  skim  milk  discharge  is  not  more  than 
half  of  the  capacity  of  the  skim  milk  outlet. 

In  order  to  secure  any  cream  discharge,  the  cream  outlet 
must  be  located  slightly  nearer  the  axis  of  the  bowl  than  the 
outer  wall  of  the  skim  milk  tube.  The  more  nearly  alike  the 
distance  of  the  two  from  the  center,  the  more  cream  and  the 
less  skim  milk  will  there  be.  The  greater  the  difference  between 
their  distance  from  the  center,  the  less  cream  and  the  more  skim 
milk  will  be  discharged.  Therefore,  the  turning  of  the  cream 
screw  toward  the  center  decreases  the  cream  discharge  and  in- 
creases the  skim  milk  discharge  and  the  turning  of  the  cream 
screw  from  the  center  increases  the  cream  discharge  and  de- 
creases the  skim  milk  discharge. 

Simultaneously,  with  the  turning  of  the  cream  screw  to- 
ward the  center  and  thereby  decreasing  the  amount  of  cream, 
a  richer  cream  is  discharged,  because  the  richest  cream  is  nearest 
the  center  of  the  bowl.  The  turning  out  of  the  cream  screw, 
while  increasing  the  proportionate  amount  of  cream,  decreases 
its  richness,  because  the  cream  layer  farther  from  the  center  is 
thinner. 

Supply  Tank,  Float  and  Discharge  Pans. — As  accessories  to 
the  bowl  may  be  considered  also  the  milk  supply  tank,  the  re- 
ceiving cup  with  float  and  the  milk  and  cream  discharge  pans. 

The  milk  supply  tank  rests  on  an  extension  of  the  separator 
frame.  It  is  used  only  in  the  case  of  hand  separators.  In  factory 
machines  the  milk  runs  into  the  separator  direct  from  the  vat  or 
heater.  The  receiving  cup  is  a  part  of  the  cover  of  the  discharge 
pans.  It  accommodates  the  float,  which  device  consists  usually  of 
a  sealed,  hollow  tin  bob  acting  as  a  regulator  of  the  milk  inflow. 
When  the  separator  is  fed  too  fast  it  rises  on  the  surface  of  the 
milk  in  the  receiving  cup  and  closes  a  part  of  milk  outlet  of  the 
supply  tank. 


1  Eckles  and  Wayman. — Factors  Affecting  the  Per  Cent  Fat  in  Cream  from 
Farm  Separators.     Missouri  Bulletin  No.  94,  1911. 


80  CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION 

Separators  with  bowls  which  discharge  both,  their  milk  and 
cream  at  the  top  of  the  bowl,  are  equipped  with  a  cream  and  a 
skim  milk  catch  pan  with  discharge  spouts.  These  pans  lie  on 
the  separator  bowl  frame.  The  top  pan  discharges  the  cream, 
the  bottom  pan  the  skim  milk.  In  the  case  of  separators  which 
discharge  their  skim  milk  from  the  bottom  of  the  bowl,  no  skim 
milk  discharge  pan  is  needed,  the  skim  milk  escaping  through  a 
tube  in  the  frame  at  the  bottom  of  the  bowl. 

The  Driving  Mechanism. — The  parts  of  the  separator  which 
control  the  transmission  of  the  motive  power,  differ  with  the 
type  of  motive  power  used.  The  earlier  machines  were  all 
factory  separators  which  were  driven  either  by  belt,  or  steam 
turbine  and  later  by  electricity. 

The  mechanism  for  the  transmission  of  the  power  which 
revolves  the  bowl  differs  fundamentally  between  power  or 
factory  separators  and  hand  separators  and  to  some  extent  as  to 
the  type  of  power  used.  Differences  in  the  details  of  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  transmission  further  occur  between  separators  of 
the  same  type  but  of  different  makes. 

Power  or  Factory  Separators. — The  first  centrifugal  separa- 
tors were  those  used  in  the  factories  and  which  are  operated  by 
power.  The  factory  machines,  as  far  as  the  type  and  mechanism 
for  the  transmission  of  the  motive  power  is  concerned,  may  be 
divided  into  belt  machines,  turbine  machines  and  electric-driven 
machines. 

In  the  belt-driven  machines  the  power  is  generated  by  a 
separate  engine  or  motor  which  is  entirely  independent  of  "the 
separator  and,  as  far  as  the  operation  of  the  separator  is  con- 
cerned, is  connected  with  the  separator  only  when  the  latter  is 
to  be  operated.  In  this  case  the  motive  power  may  be  generated 
by  a  steam  engine,  a  gasoline  engine,  electric  or  water  motor. 
In  the  creamery  where  the  steam  engine,  or  possibly  the  elec- 
tric motor,  is  a  necessary  part  of  the  equipment  for  the  operation 
of  various  lines  of  power  machines,  such  as  churns,  pasteurizer, 
etc.,  the  separator  is  usually  connected  by  belt  with  the  main 
shaft  or  line  shaft.  In  the  case  of  separators  of  small  capacity, 


CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION  81 

not  over  about  2,000  pounds  of  milk  per  hour,  the  belt  from  the 
shaft  usually  connects  direct  with  the  separator.  The  lower 
end  of  the  spindle  of  the  separator  is  geared  to  a  short  horizontal 
shaft  which  carries  a  tight  and  a  loose  pulley.  In  order  to  start 
the  separator  slowly  and  to  avoid  sudden  jars  when  changing  the 
speed  of  the  engine,  the  belt  is  shifted  from  the  loose  to  the 
tight  pulley  very  gradually.  This  type  of  power  transmission 
is  suitable  also  for  large  dairy  farms  where  a  gasoline  engine  or 
similar  power  is  available.  It  has  the  advantage  of  facilitating 
the  maintenance  of  uniform  speed,  provided  that  the  belt  does 
not  slip,  and  of  utilizing  steam  or  other  power  and  space 
economically. 

For  machines  of  larger  capacity,  such  as  are  used  in  the 
average  commercial  creamery  and  which  may  range  as  high  as 
10,000  pounds  of  milk  per  hour  or  higher,  indirect  transmission 
of  the  belt  power  is  used.  For  this  purpose  a  double  trans- 
mission in  the  form  of  an  intermediate,  or  jack,  is  installed.  The 
intermediate  consists  of  a  tight  and  loose  pulley  to  which  the 
pulley  on  the  main  shaft  is  belted  and  a  large  wheel  which  trans- 
mits the  power  from  the  intermediate  to  the  separator  by  means 
of  an  endless  separator  cord  or  strap.  In  order  to  take  up  the 
slack  in  the  cord  the  intermediate  is  equipped  with  a  weighted 
lever  which  presses  against  the  cord  while  in  operation,  tighten- 
ing the  latter  and  preventing  excessive  slipping.  The  inter- 
mediate rests  on  an  independent  standard,  permanently  erected 
and  usually  at  a  distance  of  about  12  feet  from  the  separator. 
The  chief  disadvantage  of  the  use  of  the  intermediate  is  that  it 
takes  up  considerable  space  which  might  be  utilized  for  other 
purposes.  In  the  latest  of  models  of  power  separators  the  inter- 
mediate has  been  dispensed  with,  removing  the  above  objection. 

In  the  steam  turbine-driven  separators,  in  most  cases,  the 
lower  end  of  the  spindle  carries  a  turbine  wheel,  which  revolves 
in  an  inclosed  turbine  chamber  of  the  separator  frame  and  which 
contains  a  reduced  steam  inlet  and  a  steam  exhaust.  In  separa- 
tors with  pending  bowls  the  turbine  is  located  above  the  separa- 
tor bowl.  The  steam  supply  pipe  is  equipped  with  a  valve  to 
regulate  the  steam  inlet  and  for  safety's  sake  it  should  carry, 


82  CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION 

between  the  steam  valve  and  the  separator,  a  steam  gauge  and 
a  blow-off  valve,  or  safety,  properly  set  to  guard  against  ex- 
cessive steam  pressure.  The  steam  turbine  separator  has  be- 
come very  popular  for  both  factory  and  farm  machines.  Its 
chief  advantages  are  that  the  separator  can  be  operated  in- 
dependently of  the  steam  engine  or  the  main  shaft.  It  is  compact 
and  does  away  with  the  space- wasting  objection  of  the  inter- 
mediate of  the  belt-driven  machine.  On  the  other  hand  it  en- 
volves  somewhat  less  economic  use  of  steam  and  requires  closer 
attention  in  order  to  insure  uniform  speed.  The  latter  objection 
has  been  largely  removed,  however,  in  the  latest  types  of  steam 
turbine  separators  by  equipping  them  with  efficient  automatic 
speed  governors.  The  close  proximity  of  the  steam  chamber  to 
the  lower  bearing  also  is  prone  to  augment  the  tendency  of  heat- 
ing the  spindle  in  the  absence  of  adequate  lubrication. 

The  electric-driven  separator  is  a  later  inovation.  It  is 
equipped  with  an  electric  motor  which  is  a  part  of  the  separator 
and  which  requires  no  power  transmission  arrangement  addi- 
tional to  that  which  forms  a  part  of  the  separator.  It  can  be 
operated  independent  of  all  other  operations,  no  steam  nor  gaso- 
line engine  is  required,  the  turning  on  of  the  current  is  all  that 
is  necessary.  So  far  these  electric-driven  separators  have  not 
found  very  extensive  use,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  larger 
machines.  Their  greatest  disadvantage  so  far  has  been  the  short 
life  of  the  motor.  Experience  has  shown  that  these  separator 
motors  are  of  relatively  short  usefulness.  It  seems  that  the 
dampness  to  which  they  are  bound  to  be  exposed  in  the  creamery 
is  injurious  to  the  insulation,  necessitating  frequent  repairs  and 
renewal.  This  objection  is  now,  however,  being  rapidly  over- 
come by  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  manufacturer  to  furnish  ma- 
chines with  more  efficiently  protected  motors. 

Hand  Separators. — In  the  case  of  the  hand  separator  the 
power  mechanism  is  a  part  of  the  separator  proper.  It,  too, 
differs  in  details  of  arrangement  with  different  makes  of  ma- 
chines. The  fundamental  principle  of  the  mechanism  is  to  pro- 
duce the  relatively  high  number  of  revolutions  which  are  re- 
quired of  the  bowl, — 6,000  to  17,000  revolutions  per  minute, — 


CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION  £3 

from  the  limited  and  relatively  small  number  of  turns  of  the 
crank  shaft — 45  to  60  turns  per  minute — iwhich  can  be  con- 
venietly  applied  by  hand.  This  is  accomplished  by  transmis- 
sion of  the  power  by  a  series  of  gear  wheels  located  between  the 
crank  shaft  and  the  spindle  of  the  bowl.  The  type  of  gears  varies 
somewhat  with  different  makes  of  machines,  they  may  consist  of 


Fig.   9.     De   Laval  hand   separator  Fig.  10.    Sharpies  hand  separator 

Courtesy  De  Laval  Separator  Co.  Courtesy  Sharpies  Separator  Co. 

cog  wheels  of  various  angles,  worm  wheels,  friction  wheels,  or 
chain,  or  belt  wheels,  or  a  combination  of  two  or  more  of  these 
principles. 

The  transmission  by  friction  wheels  has  been  almost  com- 
pletely abandoned,  because  they  have  been  found  unsatisfactory 
for  this  purpose  on  account  of  uneven  wear  of  friction  surfaces 
and  therefore  irregular  speed  of  the  bowl. 

The  chain  transmission  also  is  of  rare  occurrence  and  the 
belt  transmission  is  generally  installed  only  on  those  hand  ma- 
chines which  are  to  be  used  for  power  as  well  as  hand  operation. 


84  CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION 

Its  chief  advantage  is  that  it  protects  the  separator  against  sud- 
den shock  of  the  spindle  and  bowl  which  is  practically  unavoid- 
able when  operated  by  certain  forms  of  power.  This  is  especial- 
ly true  in  the  case  of  gasoline  engine  explosions.  In  these  belt 
driven  farm  separators,  the  power  is  transmitted  by  belt  to  the 
tight  and  loose  pulley  which  is  provided  with  a  belt  shifter, 
thence  from  the  short  center  shaft  which  is  a  part  of  the  set 
drive,  by  an  endless  belt  to  the  lower  worm  wheel  shaft  of  the 
separator.  In  the  latest  type  of  hand  separator  the  power  trans- 
mission is  further  equipped  with  a  coil  spring  belt  tightener  over 
which  the  belt  runs  and  which  automatically  absorbs  shocks  and 
irregularities  in  speed. 

In  the  great  majority  of  hand  separators  which  are  used  for 
hand  power  only,  the  power  is  transmitted  exclusively  by  cog 
wheels  or  by  worm  wheels  or  by  a  combination  of  both.  The 
transmission  mechanism  usually  consists  of  one,  two  or  three 
pairs  of  wheels.  The  large  cog  wheel  resting  on  the  crank  shaft 
transmits  its  power  to  a  small  cog  wheel,  this  constitutes  the  first 
transmission  of  power  with  increased  speed.  The  small  cog 
wheel  rests  on  a  second  large  cog  wheel  which  transmits  its 
power  either  direct  to  the  worm  gear  of  the  lower  spindle,  or  to 
a  third  small  wheel,  to  the  axis  of  which  is  attached  a  third  large 
wheel  which  connects  direct  with  the  lower  spindle. 

The  successive  multiplication  in  speed  resulting  from  these 
transmissions  depends  on  the  difference  in  the  number  of  cogs 
between  the  large  and  the  small  wheels.  Assuming  for  example, 
that  there  are  three  pairs  of  cog  wheels  and  in  each  pair  the 
large  wheel  has  50  cogs  and  the  small  wheel  has  10  cogs,  the 
speed  is  increased  by  each  of  the  three  sets  of  transmissions  five 
times,  or  5x5x5=125.  In  the  above  case  each  turn  of  the  crank 
shaft  yields  125  revolutions  of  the  bowl.  If  the  required  number 
of  revolutions  of  the  bowl  is  6,500  per  minute,  then  the  crank 

shaft  must  be  given        ^  =  52  turns  per  minute. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  smoothness  of  running,  as  far  as  the 
transmission  is  concerned,  is  dependent  on  the  regularity  and 
state  of  preservation  of  these  cogs.  If  the  cogs  are  abnormally 
worn,  or  if  one  or  more  cogs  are  broken,  the  machine  slips  and 


CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION 


85 


Pig*.  11.     Steam  turbine  and  speed  governor 
Courtesy  De  Laval  Separator  Co. 


jolts,  making  the 
proper  operation  of 
the  separator  impos- 
sible. Damaged  cog 
wheels  or  worn 
wheels  therefore 
should  be  replaced 
by  new  ones  at  once. 
These  facts  further 
emphasize  the  im- 
portance of  care  in 
starting,  running 
and  stopping  the 
separator.  The  ma- 
chine should  be  started  up  slowly  and  run  with  a  uniform 
pressure  of  the  hand  and  should  be  stopped  gradually. 

The  crank  shaft  of  most  hand  separators  now  on  the  market 
is  provided  with  a  ratchet,  which  allows  the  unhindered  con- 
tinuation of  the  revolution  of  the  bowl  when  the  crank  shaft 
stops,  .and  therefore  guards  against  shocks  due  to  sudden  stop- 
ping of  the  crank.  However,  some  machines  are  equipped  with 
bowl  brakes  which,  if  used  at  all,  should  be  applied  gradually, 
so  as  to  prevent  injury  and  excessive  wear  on  the  gearing 
mechanism. 

Another  important  part  of  the  mechanism  efficiency  and 
durability  of  the  separator  is  the  lubricating  arrangement  and 
its  management. 

Systems  of  Oiling. — The  cream  separator  is  a  highly  special- 
ized piece  of  farm  machinery.  Its  mechanical  parts  are  com- 
paratively delicate,  its  bowl  revolves  at  a  high  speed,  and  the 
operation  of  the  machine  is  usually  continuous  for  at  least  an 
hour  and  often  for  a  much  longer  period.  These  facts  obviously 
render  the  system  of  oiling  a  very  important  part  of  the  ma- 
chine and  its  operation.  Absence  of  a  proper  and  adequate 
system  of  oiling  may  cause  undue  friction  on  the  wearing  parts, 
resulting  in  misalignment  and  damage  to  the  separator  and  un- 
satisfactory results  of  its  operation. 


86  CENTRIFUGAL,  SEPARATION 

There  are  in  use  principally  three  systems  of  oiling,  they 
are  the  "splash-oiling  system,"  the  "sight-feed  cup  oiling 
system"  and  the  "open-hole  oiling  system."  They  vary  in  their 
application  with  the  different  makes  of  separators.  Obviously 
that  system  is  the  best  which  is  most  nearly  automatic,  removes 
the  sediment  without  permitting  it  to  recirculate,  and  econo- 
mizes oil. 

In  "the  flash-oiling  system"  the  gears  and  wearing  parts  are 
partly  submerged  in  the  oil,  the  oil  usually  being  splashed  by  the 
lowest  gear  over  the  others  and  over  the  other  wearing  parts  o{ 
the  separator.  In  some  separators  provisions  are  made  in  the 
gear  chamber  for  the  draining  of  the  grit  and  dirt,  so  that  clean 
oil,  only,  circulates  over  the  wearing  parts.  Lamson1  who  made 
an  extensive  study  of  the  construction  of  separators  recommends 
that  when  this  system  is  used,  the  gear  chamber  be  frequently 
drained,  using  the  waste  oil  for  coarser  farm  machinery  and  that 
this  chamber  be  flushed  out  with  kerosene  to  remove  sediment. 
The  "splash-oiling  system"  is  completely  automatic  in  its 
operation. 

The  "sight-feed  cup  oiling  system"  depends  for  its  efficiency 
in  continuously  oiling  the  friction  parts,  on  being  so  adjusted  as 
to  feed  the  oil  slowly  and  on  being  kept  filled.  In  its  operation 
care  is  required  to  keep  the  feed  tubes  open  and  free  from  clog- 
ging, which  is  prone  to  occur  in  cold  weather  when  the  oil  be- 
comes abnormally  viscous  or  congeals  entirely.  This  oiling 
system  may  be  considered  semi-automatic. 

The  "open-oil-hole  system'1  is  obviously  the  crudest  form  of 
oiling  the  cream  separator.  It  requires  constant  attention  while 
the  separator  is  used.  Its  lubrication  is  not  uniform,  it  wastes 
oil,  is  mussy  and  the  holes  are  prone  to  become  clogged  with 
dirt,  waste  and  other  obstructions. 

Power  Requirements  of  Cream  Separators. — The  amount  of 
power  required  to  drive  a  separator  at  the  requisite  speed  obvi- 
ously varies  with  the  capacity  of  the  machine.  It  also  varies 
with  machines  of  the  same  capacity  but  of  different  makes,  and 
there  is  a  considerable  difference  between  the  power  required 

1  Lamson. — A  Study  of  Farm  Separators.     M.  S.  A.  Thesis,  Purdue  Uni- 
versity,   1918. 


CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION 


87 


when  empty  and  when  loaded.  The  state  of  repair  and  kind  of 
oil  used  and  efficiency  of  oiling  are  further  factors  which  bear 
on  the  ease  of  running. 

Factory  separators  of  a  capacity  about  5000  pounds  per  hour, 
when  loaded  require  about  2  H.  P.  at  the  start  and  until  full  speed 
is  attained.  After  that,  from  seven-eighths  to  one  H.  P.  is  suffi- 
cient to  maintain  full  speed.  Farm  separators  of  the  usual  capa- 
city of  about  350  to  500  pounds  per  hour  require  approximately 
from  .063  to  .16  H.  P.  when  loaded.  Lamson1  determined  the 
relative  Horse  power  required  of  twelve  different  farm  separa- 
tors, when  empty  and  when  loaded.  He  used  for  his  determina- 
tions a  Torsion  dynamometer,  designed,  built  and  perfected  at 
Purdue  University,  but  instead  of  running  milk  through  the 
separator  in  his  trials  with  the  loaded  machine,  he  used  salt  brine, 
having  a  specific  gravity  of  1.032  at  60°  F.  His  results  are  shown 
in  table  5. 

Table  5. — Horse  Power  Required  to  Drive  Empty  and  Loaded 

Farm  Cream  Separators  and  Ratio  of  Power  Required  to 

Drive  Empty  to  that  of  Loaded  Separators. 


Crank 
R  P  M 

Horse 

Power 

Ratio    of    Power 

Name  of 
Separators 

No. 

Speed 
of 

Empty 

Loaded 

to   Drive   Empty 
to   Loaded 

De  Laval 

12 

60 

.0362 

.0636 

1    1.757 

Economy  King  .. 
New  Butterfly   .. 
John  M.  Smythe. 
Dairy  Queen 
Primrose        

4 

4^ 
4 
5 
2 

60 
50 
60 
60 
60 

.0335 
.0365 
.0353 
.0366 
.0496 

.0656 
0.715 
.0726 
.0757 
.0760 

1    1.958 
1    1.959 
1    2.057 
1    2.068 
1    1.532 

Sharpies 

4 

45 

.0682 

.0880 

1    1.276 

Galloway 

7 

50 

.0373 

.0881 

1    2.362 

Renfrew    

6 

60 

.0487 

.1015 

1    2.084 

United  States   .  .  . 
Anker-Holth   
Iowa    

16 
5 
30 

60 
60 
•60 

.0538 
.0371 
.1215 

.1035 
.1060 
.1624 

1    1.924 
1    2.857 
1    1.337 

Average    

57 

.0495 

.0895 

1    1.808 

1  Lamson.— A  Study  of  Farm  Separators.     M.  S.  A.  Thesis,  Purdue  Uni- 
versity,   1918. 


88  CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATION 

The  Capacity  of  the  Cream  Separator. — By  the  capacity  of 
the  cream  separator  is  understood  the  amount  of  milk  the  ma- 
chine will  skim  per  hour.  Every  cream  separator  is  rated  at  a 
definite  capacity;  that  is,  it  is  built  to  separate  a  certain  spe- 
cified amount  of  milk  in  a  given  length  of  time.  The  farm  separa- 
tors range  in  capacity  from  about  150  to  1,200  pounds  of  milk  per 
hour.  For  dairies  with  five  to  six  cows  a  350  to  400  pound  capacity 
machine  is  recommended.  The  capacity  of  factory  machines 
ranges  from  about  1,200  to  10,000  pounds  of  milk  per  hour. 

The  capacity  of  the  separator  must  have  a  definite  relation 
to  the  centrifugal  force,  ff  the  machine  is  to  do  efficient  skim- 
ming. An  increase  in  the  capacity,  of  any  given  separator, 
hastens  the  passage  of  the  milk  through  the  bowl  and  shortens 
the  time  during  which  it  is  subjected  to  the  centrifugal  force. 
The  maximum  capacity  of  a  separator  should,  therefore,  not  ex- 
ceed the  amount  of  milk  which  can  be  efficiently  skimmed  in  an 
hour.  Greater  capacity,  without  also  increasing  the  centrifugal 
force,  overtaxes  the  separating  ability  of  the  machine  and  causes 
excessive  loss  of  fat. 

Theoretically,  the  size  of  the  skim  milk  and  cream  outlets 
of  the  bowl  obviously  influence  the  capacity  of  the  separator,  for 
the  larger  these  outlets,  the  more  milk  the  separator  is  capable 
of  taking  in.  If  the  bowl  were  not  in  motion  and  the  discharge 
of  skim  milk  and  cream  were  depending  only  on  the  mechanical 
overflowing  of  these  parts,  this  hypothesis  would  be  correct.  In 
this  case  these  parts  would  be  completely  filled. 

But  when  the  bowl  is  in  motion  such  is  not  the  case,  the 
increased  rapidity  of  the  discharge  due  to  the  centrifugal  force 
generated  in  the  revolving  bowl,  greatly  augments  the  capacity 
of  the  discharge  parts,  so  that  the  skim  milk  and  cream  outlets  are 
not  completely  filled  and  do  at  no  time  discharge  skim  milk  and 
cream  in  accordance  with  their  full  capacity.  This  fact  has  been 
conclusively  demonstrated  by  Eckles  &  Wayman,1  who  found 
that,  under  normal  conditions,  the  skim  milk  tube  does  not  run 
much  over  one  half  of  its  actual  capacity. 

For  this  reason  it  is  obvious,  also,  that  a  change  in  the  pro- 

1  Eckles  &  Wayman. — Factors  Affecting  the  Per  Cent  of  Fat  in   Cream 
from  Farm  Separators.     Missouri  Bull.   No.   94,   1911. 


CENTRIFUGAI,  SEPARATION  89 

portionate  amount  of  skim  milk  and  cream  delivered,  as  caused 
by  a  change  in  the  position  of  the  skim  milk  or  cream  screw, 
does  not  affect  the  capacity  of  the  separator.  The  richness  of 
the  cream  delivered,  therefore,  has  no  material  effect  on  the 
capacity  of  the  separator. 

The  capacity  of  the  separator  is  naturally  directly  affected 
by  the  rate  of  inflow.  When  the  rate  of  inflow  drops  below 
the  designated  capacity,  less  milk  flows  through  the  separator 
and  more  time  is  required  to  separate  a  given  amount  of  milk. 
When  the  rate  of  inflow  is  increased  beyond  the  designated 
capacity,  more  milk  flows  through  the  separator  than  its  capa- 
city calls  for  and  less  time  is  required  to  separate  a  given  am- 
ount of  milk.  This  latter  fact  is  possible  only  because  the 
skim  milk  and  cream  outlets  are  not  filled  to  full  capacity  when 
the  separator  is  operated  under  normal  conditions.  Hunziker1 
shows  that  the  same  volume  of  milk  that  under  normal  inflow 
required  7  minutes  for  separation,  required  11  minutes  in  the 
case  of  a  reduced  inflow  and  6  minutes  in  the  case  of  an;  in- 
creased inflow.  The  reduced  inflow  did  not  affect  the  skim- 
ming efficiency,  while  the  excessive  inflow  caused  a  greater  loss 
of  fat  in  the  skim  milk. 

The  speed  of  the  separator  exerts  a  powerful  influence  on 
the  capacity  of  the  machine.  The  speed  generates  the  centrifugal 
force  which  expels  the  skim  milk  and  cream  through  their 
respective  outlets  with  great  force.  The  greater  the  speed  and, 
therefore,  the  greater  the  centrifugal  force,  the  more  rapid  the 
exit  of  skim  milk  and  cream  and  the  greater  the  capacity  of 
the  separator.  Hunziker1  shows  that,  when  at  normal  speed,  it 
required  5  minutes  to  separate  a  given  volume  of  milk,  the  same 
volume  required  9.6  minutes  at  a  speed  reduced  25  turns  of  the 
crank  below  normal  and  it  required  only  3.3  minutes  at  a  speed 
increased  15  turns  of  the  crank  above  normal.  The  decreased 
speed  lowered  the  skimming  efficiency  while  the  excessive 
speed  very  slightly  increased  it. 

The  state  of  cleanliness  of  the  separator  may  affect  the 
capacity  of  the  machine  to  a  considerable  extent  and,  in  the 
case  of  extremely  bad  condition,  may  clog  the  machine  entirely. 

1  Hunziker. — Why  Cream  Tests  Vary.     Purdue  Bulletin  No.  150.  1911. 


90  SKIMMING  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE:  SEPARATOR    . 

The  formation  of  a  wall  of  separator  slime  on  the  bowl  wall 
reduces  the  diameter  and  thereby  diminishes  the  centrifugal 
force,  which,  in  turn,  decreases  the  rapidity  with  which  the  milk 
passes  through  and  out  of  the  machine.  The  accumulation  of 
foreign  matter  and  clots  also  tend  to  diminish  the  size  of  the 
outlets  and  partly  block  the  passage  of  skim  milk  and  cream.  * 

CONDITIONS    AFFECTING    THE    SKIMMING    EFFI- 
CIENCY   OF    THE    SEPARATOR. 

The  exclusive  purpose  for  which  the  cream  separator  has 
been  devised  is  to  skim  milk.  In  its  construction,  efficiency  to 
skim  close  was  the  dominant  aim.  This  skimming  efficiency 
has  been  accomplished  to  a  very  marked  degree,  removing  from 
96  to  98  per  cent  of  the  fat  of  the  milk  and  leaving  in  the  skim 
milk  less  than  .1  per  cent  fat  under  normal  conditions.  Experi- 
ments with  the  farm  separator  have  "shown  even  greater  skim- 
ming efficiency  when  operated  under  proper  conditions. 

In  order  to  accomplish  high  skimming  efficiency  and  to 
leave  the  minimum  amount  of  fat  in  the  skim  milk,  the  machine 
must  be  operated  properly  and  in  accordance  with  the  directions 
furnished  by  the  manufacturer.  The  chief  factors  which  con- 
trol the  skimming  efficiency  of  the  cream  separator  are :  Speed 
of  machine,  rate  of  milk  inflow  and  temperature  of  milk.  In 
addition  to  these  fundamental  factors,  other  conditions  such  as 
adjustment  of  cream  screw,  smoothness  of  running,  cleanliness 
of  separator  bowl  and  condition  of  milk,  may  influence  to  some 
extent  the  per  cent  fat  lost  in  the  skim  milk. 

Effect  of  Speed  of  Separator  on  Skimming  Efficiency. — The 

speed  of  the  revolving  bowl  generates  the  centrifugal  force 
which  causes  the  separation  of  the  liquids  of  different  specific 
gravities,  it  separates  the  fat  from  the  skim  milk,  causing  the 
separator  to  discharge  cream  and  skim  milk. 

The  higher  the  speed,  the  greater  is  the  centrifugal  force 
and,  other  conditions  remaining  the  same,  the  more  corpplete 
is  the  separation.  Every  cream  separator  has  a  given,  rated 
speed  at  which  it  will  do  its  most  efficient  work.  If  the  speed 
is  reduced  below  that  required,  the  skimming  efficiency  will 


SKIMMING  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  SEPARATOR  91 

be  lessened  and  more  fat  is  lost  in  the  skim  milk.  Nothing  is 
gained  by  running  the  machine  faster  than  the  required  speed ; 
excessive  speed  does  not  materially  increase  the  skimming  effi- 
ciency; on  the  other  hand  it  augments  the  pressure  on  the 
bowl  and  on  other  parts  of  the  separator,  and  beyond  certain 
limits  the  bowl  may  collapse,  or  it  may  jump  the  castings,  or 
it  may  increase  the  friction  sufficiently  to  cause  the  spindle 
and  the  bearings  and  bushings  to  heat  and  wedge,  in  which 
case  the  bowl  may  come  to  a  sudden  stop  warping  the  spindle. 
For  these  reasons  each  machine  is  accompanied  by  directions 
in  which  the  proper  speed  of  the  separator  is  specifically  stated. 

The  speed  of  the  bowl  varies  considerably  Avith  different 
makes  of  separators.  Since,  at  a  given  speed,  the  centrifugal 
force  increases  with  the  increase  of  the  diameter  of  the  bowl, 
separators  with  wide  bowls  do  not  require  as  high  a  speed  to 
develop  the  desired  separating  efficiency  as  separators  with  a 
narrow  bowl.  Thus  the  relatively  large-diameter  bowls  of  the 
De  Laval  type  require  only  from  five  to  six  thousand  revolu- 
tions per  minute,  while  separators  with  bowls  of  the  tubular 
type,  long  and  narrow,  must  be  run  at  about  17,000  revolutions 
per  minute. 

In  the  case  of  the  hand  separator  the  proper  speed  is  given 
in  terms  of  number  of  turns  of  the  crank.  This  varies  with  dif- 
ferent machines  from  45  to  60  turns  per  minute.  The  exact 
number  of  turns  required  is  usually  indicated  on  the  crank  of 
the  separator. 

When  the  proper  speed  has  been  attained  it  should  be 
maintained  uniformly  throughout  the  separation.  Running  the 
separator  at  uneven  speed  causes  incomplete  separation. 

Control  of  Speed  of  the  Separator. — In  the  case  of  the  hand 
separator,  as  used  on  the  farm,  the  operator  can  make  sure  of 
giving  the  separator  the  proper  speed  by  timing  himself.  All 
he  has  to  do  is  to  count  the  turns  of  the  crank  per  minute,  by 
the  watch  in  his  hand.  By  doing  this  occasionally  he  soon 
learns  the  necessary  rapidity  of  motion  to  run  the  machine  at 
full  speed.  Unfortunately  this  is  not  usually  done  and  expe- 
rience has  amply  shown  that  the  general  tendency  of  the  oper- 
ator is  to  overestimate  the  amount  of  work  he  puts  into  the 


92  SKIMMING  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE:  SEPARATOR 

machine,  causing  the  separator  to  be  run  at  too  low  a  speed, 
thereby  not  getting  out  of  the  milk  all  the  available  fat.  This 
is  particularly  true  where  different  persons  operate  the  same 
machine,  but  even  the  same  operator,  unless  he  times  himself, 
may  soon  get  in  the  habit  of  running  the  machine  too  slowly. 

The  metronome,  which  can  be  set  to  tick  the  exact  number 
of  turns  required  per  minute  is  a  very  useful  instrument  to  keep 
up  the  speed  of  the  separator. 

Some  separators  have  a  bell  attachment  striking  the  re- 
quired number  of  revolutions  per  minute  when  the  separator 
runs  full  speed. 

The  gyrometer  is  another  separator  speed  indicator  which 
is  extensively  used  in  European  machines.  It  consists  of  a 
graduated  glass  tube,  partly  filled  with  glycerin  and  closed  at 
both  ends.  It  is  either  directly  or  indirectly  connected  with 
the  spindle  of  the  bowl,  so  that  it  revolves  with  the  spindle. 
When  revolving,  the  glycerin,  acted  upon  by  the  centrifugal  force, 
recedes  from  the  center,  rises  along  the  walls  of  the  tube  and 
forms  a  funnel  of  air  in  the  center,  the  length  of  which  bears 
a  definite  relation  to  the  speed  of  the  machine.  A  graduation 
on  the  tube  extending  from  top  to  bottom,  shows  the  number 
of  revolutions  of  the  bowl  at  different  lenghts  of  the  air  funnel. 

In  more  recent  years  in  this  country  numerous  types  of 
speed  indicators,  attached  to  the  machine  and  operating  on  a 
principle  similar  to  that  of  the  speedometers  used  on  automo- 
biles, have  been  devised  and  are  in  more  or  less  general  use. 
One  of  the  more  recent  ideas  of  speed  indicator  is  a  combina- 
tion of  speed  governor  and  controller  of  the  rate  of  inflow  of 
the  milk.  Its  fundamental  idea  is  to  reduce  the  milk  inlet  as  the 
speed  of  the  machine  drops  below  normal,  and  thereby  automatic- 
ally maintain  the  skimming  efficiency  at  a  speed  below  normal, 
the  decreased  skimming  efficiency  of  the  lower  speed  being  offset 
by  the  increased  skimming  efficiency  of  the  reduced  milk  inflow. 

The  principle  of  regulating  the  rate  of  inflow  by  the  speed 
and  thus  maintaining  the  skimming  efficiency  at  a  reduced 
speed  has  been  applied  in  the  case  of  the  Sharpies  Tubular 
separator.  In  the  latest  models  of  this  machine  the  rate  of 
inflow  is  dependent  on  the  suction  generated  by  the  revolving 


SKIMMING  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  SEPARATOR 


93 


bowl.  The  higher  the  speed  the  greater  the  suction  and  the 
larger  the  milk  inflow  and  vice  versa.  This  principle  applies 
within  reasonable  limits  of  speed.  When  the  speed  drops  below 
the  normal  limit  the  skimming  efficiency  is  jeopardized. 

Some  of  the  latest  models  of  steam  turbine-driven  machines 
provide  for  a  steam  governor,  similar  to  that  used  on  high-class 
steam  engines,  insuring  an  even  speed  for  turbine-driven  machines. 
This  principle  has  been  applied  in  the  case  of  the  De  Laval  Turbine 
separator. 

The  automatic  speed  indicators  are  particularly  valuable 
in  the  operation  of  the  ,hand  separator  on  the  farm.  Experi- 
ments conducted  at  the  Purdue  University  Agricultural  Expe- 
riment Station1  show  that  the  loss  of  fat  in  the  skim  milk, 
through  the  failure  of  the  man  behind  the  crank  to  run  the 
separator  at  full  speed,  is  often  very  great. 

Table  6. — Effect  of  Speed  on  the  Skimming  Efficiency  of  the 

Separator. 

Revolutions  of  Separator  Crank 


10-15   too  High 

Normal 

10-15  too  Low 

20-30  too  Low 

Trial 

Per  cent  of  Fat 

Per  cent  of  Fai 

Per  cent  of  Fat 

Per  cent  of  Fat 

No. 

Skim 

I  Skim 

Skim 

Skim 

Creaml  Milk 

Cream]  Milk 

Cream 

Milk 

Cream 

Milk 

1 

1 

32. 

.02 

28. 

.02 

23. 

.095 

20. 

.135 

2 

28. 

.02 

24.5 

.02 

21. 

.14 

18.5 

.38 

3 

24. 

.03 

21. 

.04 

19. 

.115 

17. 

.15 

4 

32. 

.03 

29. 

.035 

26. 

.14 

22. 

.20 

5 

28. 

.03 

26. 

.03 

24. 

.15 

20. 

.34 

6 

30.     I     .04 

27.5 

.035 

24.5 

.16 

22. 

.37 

7 

48. 

.03 

42. 

.03 

36. 

.10 

34. 

.14 

8 

32. 

.03 

28. 

.025 

25. 

.11 

23. 

.14 

9 

33. 

.02 

28. 

.02 

25. 

.105 

24. 

.18 

10 

33. 

.035 

28. 

.035 

27. 

.11 

23. 

.16 

11 

32.' 

.03 

28. 

.03 

27. 

.11 

25. 

.155 

12 

34. 

.03 

32. 

.03 

36. 

.13 

30.     |    .19 

Average.  . 

32.     |     .029 

28.5 

.029 

26. 

.12 

23.     |    .21 

1  Hunziker.— The  Hand  Separator  and  the  Gravity  Systems  of  Creaming. 
Purdue  Bulletin  No.   116,    1906. 

Hunziker.— Why  Cream  Tests  Vary.    Purdue  Bulletin  No.  150,  1911. 


94  SKIMMING  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  SEPARATOR 

The  accompanying  figures  show  that  in  the  case  of  a  cow 
producing  6,000  pounds  of  milk  per  year  and  yielding  5,100 
pounds  of  skim  milk  the  loss  of  butter  per  cow  per  year  would 
be  12.85  pounds  which  at  45  cents  per  pound  would  amount  to 
$5.78.  This  illustration  amply  demonstrates  that  the  dairy  farm- 
er cannot  afford  to  ignore  the  speed  of  the  separator  and 
should,  for  his  own  protection,  use  some  reliable  means  to 
insure  the  proper  speed  of  his  machine. 

It  is  obvious  that  proper  attention  to  the  speed  of  the 
separator  is  equally  necessary  in  the  factory,  particularly  when 
steam  turbine  separators  are  used.  Especially  in  small  plants 
with  small  boiler  capacity,  the  steam  pressure  is  prone  to  vary 
and  this  in  turn  causes  the  turbine  separator  to  run  irregularly. 
Excessive  speed  due  to  high  steam  pressure  is  usually  guarded 
against  by  the  installation  of  a  blow-off  valve.  In  the  case 
of  belt-driven  machines,  the  speed  is  usually  more  uniform, 
provided  that  the  engine  is  equipped  with  an  efficient  gov- 
ernor, is  running  at  a  uniform  stroke  and  the  slipping  of  belts 
is  avoided. 

Effect  of  Rate  of  Inflow  on  Skimming  Efficiency  of  the 
Separator. — The  rate  of  inflow  has  a  very  marked  influence  on 
the  completeness  of  the  separation.  The  capacity  rated  by  the 
manufacturer  of  the  machine  is  supposed  to  represent  the 
maximum  amount  of  milk  which  will  insure  complete  separa- 
tion. If  the  rate  of  inflow  is  forced  beyond  the  specified  capa- 
city of  the  separator,  the  skin^ming  efficiency  decreases.  This 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  milk  passes  through  the  separator 
so  rapidly  that  it  is  not  exposed  to  the  centrifugal  force  long 
enough  to  undergo  complete  separation. 

A  reduction  below  capacity  of  the  amount  of  milk  passing 
through  the  separator  is  of  no  special  advantage;  it  fails  to 
appreciably  increase  the  skimming  efficiency  and  it  prolongs 
the  process  of  separation.  These  facts  were  experimentally 
demonstrated  by  the  Purdue  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,1 
as  shown  in  the  following  table. 

1  Hunziker. — The  Hand  Separator  and  the  Gravity  Systems  of  Creaming. 
Purdue  Bulletin  No?  116,  1906.r 


SKIMMING  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE;  SEPARATOR 


95 


Table  7.— Effect  of  the  Rate  of  Inflow  on  the  Per  Cent  of  Fat 

in  Skim  Milk. 


Large   Inflow 

Normal  Inflow 

Small  Inflow 

Per  cent  of  Fat 

Per  cent  of  Fat 

Per  cent  of  Fat 

Cream 

Skim  Milk 

Cream 

Skim  'Milk 

Cream  |Skim  Milk 

22. 

.155 

30.5 

.025 

23. 

.165 

28. 

.025 

31. 

.02 

22.5 

.13 

28. 

.02 

28. 

.02 

22. 

.14 

28. 

.035 

28. 

.03 

24. 

.15 

28. 

-.03 

31.5 

.03 

26. 

.13 

32. 

.03 

32. 

.035 

Average    . 

23.       |         .145 

29. 

.028 

30.      |        .027 

These  facts  emphasize  the  importance  of  properly  control- 
ling the  rate  of  inflow  of  the  cream  separator,  in  order  to  reduce 
the  amount  of  fat  in  the  skim  milk  to  the  minimum. 

Control  of  Rate  of  Inflow. — The  inflow  of  milk  to  the  sepa- 
rator may  be  regulated  by  various  contrivances  used  with  hand 
and  power  machines.  The  most  common  regulator  in  use  con- 
sists of  the  so-called  float  which  operates  in  the  receiving  cup, 
or  milk  reservoir,  located  directly  over  the  bowl.  The  float  is 
a  hollow  tin  body  usually  carrying  on  its  upper  side  a  vertical 
projection.  When  too  much  milk  flows  into  the  bowl  the  re- 
ceiving cup  fills  up,  the  float  rises  and  its  vertical  projection 
runs  into  the  faucet  of  the  milk  supply  tank  shutting  off  some 
of  the  milk.  In  the  meantime  the  milk  in  the  reservoir  cup 
recedes,  and  the  float  drops  back  permitting  more  milk  to  flow 
into  the  bowl.  In  the  Sharpies  Tubular  separator  the  rate  of 
inflow  is  regulated,  within  certain  limits,  by  the  speed  of  the 
bowl  as  previously  explained. 

The  rate  of  inflow  is  affected  to  an  appreciable  extent  by 
the  depth  of  the  milk  in  the  supply  tank.  The  fuller  the  milk 
supply  tank  the  greater  the  pressure  of  the  milk  on  the  float 
and  the  more  milk  will  flow  into  the  bowl.  In  the  case  of 
the  farm  separator,  properly  operated,  variations  in  the  rate 
of  inflow  caused  by  variations  in  the  fullness  of  the  supply 
tank  are  not  sufficient  to  seriously  influence  the  skimming  effi- 
ciency, but  they  may  cause  an  appreciable  effect  on  the  rich 


96 


SKIMMING  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  SEPARATOR 


ness  of  the  cream.  Undue  crowding  of  the  machine  and  of 
sacrificing  skimming  efficiency  due  to  the  pressure  of  the  milk 
above  the  bowl  frequently  occurs  however,  when  the  separator 
is  fed  direct  from  a  vat  or  tank,  through  a  faucet,  as  is  often 
the  case  in  the  factory,  when  the  supply  vat  may  be  located 
at  a  considerable  elevation  above  the  separator,  or  possibly  on 
the  second  floor. 

Effect  of  Temperature  of  Milk  on  Skimming  Efficiency. — 
Exhaustive  skimming  requires  the  temperature  of  the  milk  to 
be  near  that  of  the  animal  body.  There  is  not  much  difference 
in  the  skimming  efficiency  between  80  and  100  degrees  F.  but 
when  the  temperature  drops  to  70  degrees  F.  or  lower,  there 
is  a  decided,  excessive  loss  of  butter  fat  in  the  skim  milk. 

This  phenomenon  is  probably  largely  due  to  the  increase 
in  the  viscosity  of  the  milk  as  the  temperature  drops.  The 
warmer  the  milk  the  more  fluid  it  is  and  the  greater  the  free- 
dom with  which  the  fat  globules  can  move  about.  The  more 
fluid  the  milk  the  more  complete  is  the  separation.  With  a 
lowering  of  the  temperature  the  milk  becomes  less  fluid,  its 
viscosity  becomjes  greater,  the  fat  globules  find  more  resistance 
and  do  not  respond  to  the  centrifugal  force  as  readily. 

Table  8.— Effect  of  Different  Temperatures  on  the  Per  Cent 
of  Fat  in  Skim  Milk. 


90  Degrees  F. 

75  Degrees  F. 

60  Degrees  F. 

Milk 

x 

Milk 

.« 

Milk 

* 

4 
2 

3 

I 
& 

u 

^ 

SkimM 
%Fat 

w 

3 

1 

^ 

p«  4_) 

c>fo 
5^ 

Skim  Mi 
%Fat 

03 

3 

i 

& 

u 

Z& 

*~ 

1* 
fe 

1 

51 

4.1 

30. 

.02 

51 

4.1 

31. 

.04 

48 

4.1 

50.5 

.11 

2 

48 

4.4 

25. 

.02 

46 

4.4 

26. 

.05 

45 

4.4 

28. 

.10 

3 

51 

3.4 

34. 

.02 

51 

3.4 

34. 

.05 

46 

3.4 

38. 

.09 

4 

50 

3.4 

24. 

.01 

50 

3.4 

25. 

.04 

50 

3.4 

38. 

.12 

5 

50 

4.2 

27. 

.03 

50 

4.2 

30. 

.05 

50 

4.2 

40. 

.20 

6 

50 

4.4 

23.5 

.04 

50 

4.4 

24. 

.07 

50 

4.4 

25. 

.12 

7 

50 

4.0 

30. 

.02 

50 

4.0 

31. 

.05 

48 

4.0 

34. 

.09 

8 

50 

4.2 

25. 

.02 

51 

4.2 

27. 

.06 

48 

4.2 

40. 

.14 

Average  . 

.022 

1         1  -051 

|.12 

SKIMMING  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  SEPARATOR  97 

The  relative  effect  of  different  temperatures  of  the  milk 
at  the  time  of  separation  on  the  per  cent  of  fat  left  in  the  skim 
milk  from  various  makes  of  hand  separators  is  shown  in 
table  8. 

Similar  results  were  obtained  by  Eckles  and  Wayman1  and 
by  Guthrie.2 

At  a  temperature  below  70  degrees  F.  most  separators 
began  to  clog,  due  to  the  excessive  viscosity  and  the  tendency 
of  the  milk  and  cream  to  churn. 

Control  of  Temperature  of  milk. — On  the  farm  the  simplest 
way  to  have  the  milk  at  the  right  temperature  for  separation, 
is  to  separate  immediately  after  each  milking.  This  practice 
does  away  with  the  bother  of  artificially  heating  of  the  milk 
before  separating,  for  which  the  average  farm  is  not  properly 
equipped  and  which  would  be  necessary,  especially  in  winter, 
if  the  milk  were  held  over  for  separation  from  the  previous 
milking  or  previous  day. 

In  the  factory,  however,  where  the  milk  arrives  already 
cooled,  special  provision  is  required  to  heat  the  milk  to  the 
proper  temperature  (95  to  100  degrees  F.)  before  it  passes  into 
the  separator.  This  is  most  easily  accomplished  by  the  use 
of  a  continuous  milk  heater  similar  to  a  flash  pasteurizer.  In 
some  creameries  which  receive  whole  milk,  the  milk  is  heated 
to  pasteurizing  temperature  preparatory  to  separation.  This 
has  the  advantage  of  pasteurizing  not  only  the  cream  but  also 
the  skim  milk.  From  the  stand  point  of  skimming  efficiency, 
however,  nothing  is  gained  by  this  practice.  The  fat  lost  in 
the  skim  milk  by  separating  the  milk  at  temperatures  of  145 
to  185  degrees  F.  is  practically  equal  to  that  lost  when  sepa- 
rating at  95  to  100  degrees  F.  Experience  has  further  shown 
that  the  separator  is  more  prone  to  clog  with  milk  at  pasteuriz- 
ing temperature  and  has  to  be  taken  apart  oftener  for  cleans- 
ing. This  hot  milk  deposits  more  separator  slime.  Additional 
disadvantages  of  pasteurizing  the  milk  before  separation,  in- 
stead of  pasteurizing  the  cream  are,  the  greater  cost  of  the 
pasteurizing  equipment  and  the  greater  expense  of  heating. 


1  Eckles  &  Wayman. — Factors  Affecting   the   Per  Cent  of  Fat  in   Cream 
from  Farm   Separators.     Missouri   Bulletin   No.   94,    1911. 

2  Guthrie.— Variations   in   the   Tests  for   Fat  in   Cream   and  in   Skimmed 
Milk.     Cornell   Bulletin  No.    360,   1915. 


98  SKIMMING  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  SEPARATOR 

The  skim  milk  can  be  pasteurized  more  economically  sepa- 
rately by  the  use  of  exhaust  steam.  In  order  to  accomplish  ex- 
haustive skimming  of  cold  milk  heated  to  the  desired  temper- 
ature for  separation,  the  milk  must  be  held  at  that  temperature 
for  a  reasonable  length  of  time  so  as  to  give  the  fat  globules  a 
chance  to  warm  and  expand  and  thereby  to  regain  their  buoyancy. 

In  some  factories  the  milk  is  heated  without  the  use  of  a 
special  heater,  but  by  turning  steam  direct  into  the  milk. 
Experience  has  shown  this  to  be  a  very  undesirable  practice. 
At  best,  much  of  the  steam  used  condenses  in  the  milk,  dilut- 
ing the  milk  and  the  skim  milk.  Then,  again,  the  steam  is 
often  associated  with  impurities,  such  as  cylinder  oil  from  the 
engine,  boiler  compounds  used  in  the  boiler,  scales  from  the 
inside  of  the  steam  pipes,  etc.  The  turning  of  steam  direct 
into  the  milk  has  also  been  found  to  be  injurious  to  the  quality 
of  the  finished  product  causing  both  the  cream  and  the  butter 
to  take  on  an  oily  flavor. 

Effect  of  Position  of  Cream  or  Skim  Milk  Screw  on  the 
Skimming  Efficiency  of  the  Separator. — As  already  explained, 
the  purpose  of  the  cream  screw,  or  skim  milk  screw,  is  to  reg- 
ulate the  ratio  of  cream  to  skim  milk  and  to  control  the  rich- 
ness of  the  cream.  Most  makes  of  separators  permit  of  a  rather 
wide  range  of  fat  content  in  cream,  without  sacrificing  their 
skimming  efficiency.  Some  machines,  however,  when  they  are 
so  adjusted  as  to  produce  cream  testing  below  18  per  cent  fat 
or  above  50  per  cent  fat,  skim  less  completely.  In  the  case  of 
some  machines,  especially  those  with  relatively  narrow  bowls, 
there  is  a  tendency  for  the  bowl  to  clog,  when  attempts  are 
made  to  produce  cream  testing  50  per  cent  fat  or  more. 

Generally  speaking,  it  is  safe  to  state  that  the  machines 
now  on  the  market  have  reached  such  a  degree  of  perfection 
that  they  can  be  depended  on  to  do  close  skimming  when  set 
to  produce  cream  containing  not  less  than  18  per  cent  fat,  nor 
more  than  50  per  cent  fat.  This  range  of  richness  is  sufficient 
to  embrace  cream  of  any  richness  commercially  advantageous. 

Effect  of  Smoothness  of  Running  on  the  Skimming  Effi- 
ciency of  the  Separator. — The  separator  cannot  be  expected  to 
do  efficient  work  unless  it  runs  smoothly.  When  the  bowl  re- 
volves smoothly  and  without  jarring,  the  skim  milk  and  cream 


SKIMMING  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  SEPARATOR 


99 


separated  by  the  centrifugal  force  thus  generated,  escape  from 
the  machine  separately.  If  the  machine  trembles  and  jars,  a 
portion  of  the  cream  and  skim  milk  may  again  become  mixed 
by  the  vibration  of  the  bowl,  causing  a  relatively  large  amount 
of  fat  to  escape  with  the  skim  milk  and  thus  reducing  the 
skimming  efficiency  of  the  separator.  This  fact  is  shown  in 
the  following  'table  which  summarizes  the  results  of  experi- 
ments conducted  by  Hunziker,  with  smoothly  running  and 
trembling  machines. 

Table  9. — Relative  Skimming  Efficiency  of  a  Balanced  and 
Unbalanced  Separator. 


Balanced 


Unbalanced 


Cream 
Per  cent   Fat 

Skim   Milk 
Per  cent   Fat 

Cream 
Per  cent   Fat 

Skim   Milk 
Per  cent  Fat 

42. 

.03 

25. 

.15 

28. 

.025 

30. 

.17 

28. 

.02 

31. 

.18 

28. 

.035 

28. 

.16 

28. 

.03 

28. 

.155 

32. 

.03 

30. 

.19 

Average 


.03 


.17 


The  trembling  of  the  bowl  may  be  due  to  any  one  or  more 
of  the  following  conditions :  Shaky  foundation,  machine  not 
setting  level,  spindle  sprung,  internal  Contrivances  of  bowl 
damaged  or  not  properly  placed  or  incomplete,  worn-out  bear- 
ings, loose  bushings,  excessive  speed. 

The  separator  should  rest  on  a  solid  foundation.  For  farm 
separators  a  solid  plank  floor  is  adequate,  for  factory  machines 
a  concrete,  brick  or  stone  base  is  preferable.  The  foundation 
must  be  level,  though  the  newer  machines  with  self-balancing 
bowls  minimize  the  undesirable  effect  of  machines  not  setting 
quite  level.  The  separator,  while  it  should  be  fastened  securely 
to  its  foundation,  should  not  be  screwed  down  too  rigidly  for 
smooth  running.  A  certain  amount  of  "give",  or  "resonance" 
is  necessary  in  order  to  insure  smooth  running.  For  this  pur- 
pose it  is  advisable  to  place  rubber  cushions  between  the  sep- 


100 


SKIMMING  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  SEPARATOR 


arator  base  and  its  foundation.  The  spindle  must  be  true,  the 
bearings  and  bushings  intact  and  the  internal  contrivances  of 
the  bowl  must  be  undamaged  and  in  their  respective  places. 
The  bearings  must  be  fed  with  oil  continuously,  must  be  pro- 
tected against  dust  and  other  material  increasing  friction,  and 
the  bowl  and  internal  contrivances  must  be  handled  with  care, 
to  prevent  damage  which  would  cause  to  throw  the  machine 
out  of  balance. 

Effect  of  Cleanliness  of  Separator  on  Skimming  Efficiency. 
— Milk,  even  in  its  best  condition,  contains  a  certain  amount 
of  impurities  such  as  dirt,  dust  and  other  foreign  matter  gain- 
ing access  to  it  during  its  production.  This,  together  with  par- 
ticles of  viscous  nitrogenous  matter  naturally  present  in  milk, 
Table  10.— Showing  the  Effect  of  Clean  and  Unclean  Separa- 
tors on  the  Per  Cent  of  Fat  in  the  Skim  Milk. 


Machines   Cleaned   After   Each 
Separation 
Per  cent   Fat   in    Skim   Milk 

Machines  Cleaned  Once 
per   Day 
Per   cent   Fat   in    S'kim   Milk 

.03 

.02 

.03 

.03 

.03 

.03 

.02 

.02 

.04 

.02 

.03 

.02 

.02 

.31 

.03 

.15 

.11 

.72 

.03. 

.06 

.06 

.03 

.04 

.02 

.02 

.04 

.05 

.03 

.02 

.03 

.05 

.26 

.02 

.23 

.02 

.12 

.02 

.03 

.02 

.02 

.05 

.02 

.02 

.02 

.03 

.07 

Average       ....    034 

.10 

SKIMMING  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE:  SEPARATOR  101 

collects  in  the  separator  bowl,  forming  the  so-called  separator 
slime.  It  is  deposited  largely  on  the  walls  of  the  bowl  and 
between  the  internal  contrivances. 

This  slime  also  impedes  the  free  passage  of  the  milk  and 
cream  within  the  bowl,  thereby  reducing  the  diameter,  centrifugal 
force  and  capacity  of  the  bowl,  lowering  its  skimming  efficiency 
and  causing  excessive  loss  of  fat.  This  loss  is  greatest  with  milk 
in  poor  physical  condition.  The  results  of  experiments1  with 
clean  and  unclean  separators  are  shown  in  Table  10. 

Guthrie2  found  that,  within  reasonable  limits,  deposits  of 
separator  slime  in  the  bowl  do  not  materially  interfere  with  the 
skimming  efficiency  of  the  machine.  He  concludes  that  only 
when  the  bowl  fills  up  with  separator  slime  to  the  extent  of 
clogging  the  passages,  does  the  efficiency  of  separation  suffer. 

In  his  tests,  Guthrie  used  from  240  to  320  pounds  of  milk 
only  per  test.  He  does  not  state  the  rated  capacity  of  the  sepa- 
rator. It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  in  these  experiments  the 
amount  of  milk  used  was  too  small  and  the  amount  of  sepa- 
rator slime  centrifuged  out  too  limited  to  materially  affect  the 
diameter  of  the  bowl  and  the  centrifugal  force. 

In  commercial  separation  of  the  milk,  where  the  separator 
often  is  in  continuous  operation  for  several  hours,  the  accumu- 
lation of  separator  slime  is  frequently  very  great  and  this  in 
turn  is  bound  to  seriously  diminish  the  skimming  efficiency 
of  the  machine. 

Effect  of  Condition  of  Milk  on  Skimming  Efficiency  of  the 
Separator. — Milk  in  poor  mechanical  and  physical  condition, 
such  as  milk  containing  a  relatively  large  amount  of  impurities, 
or  milk,  which  is  old  and  partly  sour  or  curdy,  tends  to  lower 
the  skimming  efficiency,  largely  because  it  augments  the  am- 
ount of  separator  slime  which  collects  in  the  bowl;  this  in  turn 
impedes  the  free  passage  of  milk  and  cream  and  causes  exces- 
sive loss  of  fat. 

If  the  milk  is  curdy  the  danger  of  incomplete  separation 
is  augmented  by  the  fact  that  each  particle  of  curd  locks  up  a 
small  amount  of  fat,  and  the  curd  passing  into  the  skim  milk 

1  Hunziker.— The  Hand  Separator  and  the  Gravity  Systems  of  Creaming. 
Purdue  Bulletin  No.  116,   1906. 

2  Guthrie.— Variations  in  the  Tests  for  Fat  in  Cream  and  Skimmed  Milk. 
Cornell  Bulletin  No.  360,  1915. 


102  CONDITIONS  AFFECTING  RICHNESS  OF  CREAM 

- 

on  account  of  its  greater  specific  gravity,  carries  this  fat  with 
it.  If  it  is  necessary  to  run  curdy  milk  through  the  separator, 
the  milk  should  be  poured  from  one  can  to  another,  or  stirred, 
sufficiently  to  break  up  the  curd  as  finely  as  possible. 

Milk  in  poor  condition  is  very  prone  to  cause  the  bowl  to 
clog.  If  such  milk  must  be  separated  it  is  advisable  to  slightly 
underfeed  the  separator. 

CONDITIONS    AFFECTING    THE    RICHNESS    OF 

CREAM. 

It  is  desirable  and  important,  for  more  reasons  than  one, 
that  means  and  methods  be  used  whereby  the  per  cent  of  fat 
in  cream  can  be  properly  controlled.  The  creamery,  in  order  to 
utilize  its  cream  satisfactorily  and  economically,  for  sale  or  for 
manufacture,  requires  cream  of  suitable  richness  for  each 
specific  commercial  purpose.  For  buttermaking,  cream  testing 
30  to  35  per  cent  fat  is  most  desirable.  Such  cream  makes  pos- 
sible easy  handling,  it  minimizes  injury  to  the  fat  during  pas- 
teurization, and  permits  of  the  use  of  a  liberal  amount  of 
starter  without  excessive  dilution.  Excessively  low  testing 
cream  sours  and  spoils  more  readily  than  richer  cream,  so  that 
by  the  time  it  reaches  the  creamery,  thin  cream  is  often  in  a  con- 
dition unfit  to  be  made  into  good  butter.  In  this  sour  and 
curdy  condition  accurate  sampling  and  testing  is  rendered  diffi- 
cult, if  it  is  at  all  possible.  Thin  cream  is  undesirable  further, 
because  it  diminishes  the  amount  of  skim  milk  available  for  the 
feeding  of  calves  and  pigs  on  the  farm ;  it  increases  the  cost 
of  transportation  of  every  pound  of  butter  fat  so  shipped  or 
hauled ;  it  makes  impractical  the  use  of  a  reasonable  amount 
of  starter  in  the  creamery,  and  starter  is  essential  for  the  de- 
velopment of  a  pleasing  high  flavor  of  butter ;  it  does  not 
churn  out  exhaustively  and  yields  an  excessive  amount  of  but- 
termilk, augmenting  the  loss  of  fat  and  thereby  reducing  the 
churn  yield. 

Excessively  rich  cream,  such  as  cream  testing  above  45  per 
cent  fat  is  also  undesirable  from  the  farmer's  and  the  cream- 
ery's standpoint.  Such  cream  tends  to  clog  the  separator;  it 


CONDITIONS  AFFECTING  RICHNESS  OF  CREAM        .      103 

renders  the  emptying  of  the  cans  exceedingly  difficult,  espe- 
cially during  cold  weather ;  it  makes  difficult  accurate  sampling 
and  thereby  tends  to  yield  incorrect  tests;  and  it  contains  too 
small  an  amount  of  milk  solids  to  properly  protect  the  fat 
globules  against  mutilation  and  injury  during  pasteurization 
and  churning.  It  is  desirable  to  produce  somewhat  richer  cream 
in  summer  than  in  winter  to  prevent  excessive  fermentation  in 
summer  and  difficult  handling  in  winter. 

When  a  more  exact  per  cent  of  fat  is  desired,  as  is  the 
case  of  cream  sold  as  sweet  cream  direct  to  the  consumer,  or 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  ice  cream,  the  definite  richness  is 
usually  most  conveniently  secured  by  standardization  of  the 
cream  after  separation. 

The  knowledge  and  control  of  conditions  which  regulate 
the  richness  of  the  cream  produced  on  the  farm,  is  of  unques- 
tionable importance.  The  cream  test  reported  by  the  creamery 
to  its  patrons  is  one  of  the  guiding  factors  which  sways  the 
cream  producer  for  or  against  the  reporting  creamery.  There 
is  no  one  factor,  except  possibly  open  dishonesty,  that  is  so 
potent  of  disorganizing  and  demoralizing  the  cream  supply 
territory  of  a  creamery,  as  a  repetition  of  changes  in  the  re- 
ported cream  tests  of  successive  deliveries  of  cream  from  the 
same  patron.  This  fact  is  largely  due  to  the  usual  ignorance 
on  the  part  of  the  average  cream  patron  of  the  numerous  con- 
ditions under  his  own  control  and  not  under  the  control  of 
the  creamery,  which  may  cause  the  richness  of  the  cream  and, 
therefore,  the  test  to  vary  and  yet,  when  the  tests  do  vary  the 
producer  is  tempted  to  accuse  the  creamery  of  reporting  incor- 
rect tests  and  being  unfair  in  its  dealings. 

In  some  cases  these  accusations  are  justified,  but  in  the 
great  majority  of  instances  the  variations  in  the  tests  are  due 
to  variations  in  the  richness  of  the  cream  caused  by  irregular- 
ities incident  to  the  operation  of  the  farm  separator.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  chief  factors  controlling  the  richness  of  the 
cream : 

1.  Position  of  cream   screw  or   skim  milk  screw 

2.  Richness   of  milk 


104  CONDITIONS  AFFECTING  RICHNESS  OF  CREAM 

3.  Speed  of  separator 

4.  Rate  of  inflow 

5.  Temperature   of  milk 

6.  Amount  of  water  or  skim  milk  used  to  flush  the  bowl 

7.  Cleanliness  of  separator  bowl. 

Effect  of  Cream  Screw  or  Skim  Milk  Screw  on  Richness 
of  Cream. — The  relation  of  the  position  of  the  cream  screw  and 
skim  milk  screw  to  the  proportion  of  cream  to  skim  milk  and  to 
the  richness  of  the  cream  has  been  previously  discussed. 

Fundamentally,  any  change  in  the  separator  which  will  alter 
the  relative  amounts  of  skim  milk  and  cream  will  influence  the 
per  cent  of  fat  in  the  cream. 

These  (Jevices,  the  skim  milk  screw  and  the  cream  screw  are 
very  sensitive  adjustments.  Only  a  slight  turn  (J  turn)  of 
the  screw  is  sufficient  to  bring  about  a  very  appreciable  change 
in  the  per  cent  of  fat  of  the  cream. 

Effect  of  Richness  of  Milk  on  Richness  of  Cream. — The 
richness  of  the  milk  separated,  directly  influences  the  richness 
of  the  cream,;  in  fact  the  per  cent  of  fat  in  the  cream  stands 
in  direct  proportion  to  the  per  cent  of  fat  in  the  milk  separated. 

With  the  cream  screw  set  to  deliver  a  certain  definite  rich- 
ness of  cream  and  all  other  conditions  normal,  the  separator 
will  deliver  a  definite  ratio  of  skim  milk  to  cream.  This  ratio 
varies  with  the  adjustment  of  the  cream  screw  or  skim  milk 
screw.  For  illustration,  it  is  assumed  that  this  ratio  of  skim 
milk  to  cream  be  85  to  15,  that  is,  that  of  each  100  pounds  of 
milk  separated,  the  separator  discharges  85  pounds  of  skim 
milk  and  15  pounds  of  cream.  If  all  conditions  are  the  same 
this  ratio  of  skim  milk  to  cream  remains  constant.  Changes 
in  the  richness  of  the  milk  cannot  alter  it,  no  matter  how  rich 
or  how  poor  the  milk,  each  100  pounds  of  milk  will  yield  85 
pounds  of  skim  milk  and  15  pounds  of  cream.  But  since  prac- 
tically all  of  the  fat  goes  into  the  cream,  the  cream  from  the 
separation  of  rich  milk  contains  more  fat  than  that  from  poor 
milk.  This  fact  is  graphically  illustrated  in  Fig.  12. 


CONDITIONS  AmcTiNG  RICHNESS  OF  CREAM  105 


3*/M/( 

CWrA/m  .3  LB&  OF  FAT 


/OOifa  OF6X/1JIIC 
OWTZm  6LK.QFF7ST 


Tig.  12 

Table  11. -^Showing  Effect  of  Richness  of  Milk  on  Richness 

of  Cream.1 


Experi- 
ment 
No. 

Milk 

Time  of 
Separa- 
tion 
Min. 

Cream 

Skim  Milk 

Lbs. 

Fat 

% 

Fat 
Lbs. 

|  Fat 
Lbs.      % 

Fat 
Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Fat 

% 

Fat 
Lbs. 

Milk  Testing  3%  Fat 


I.  . 

50 

3 

1  5 

7 

625 

19 

1  18 

45 

12 

054 

II  
III.  ... 

50 
50 

3 
3 

1.5 
1.5 

7 
7 

6.5 
6.5 

20.5 
20.5 

1.33 
1.33 

46 
46 

.03 

.04 

.013 
.018 

Aver.  . 

50 

3 

1.5 

7 

6.42 

20 

1.28 

46 

.06 

.028 

Milk  Testing  4.5%  Fat 


I  

50 

4.5 

2.25 

7 

6.25 

34 

2.12 

45.5 

.02 

.01 

II  

50 

4.5 

2.25 

7 

6.5 

32 

2.08 

44.8 

.1 

.05 

III.  ... 

50 

4.5 

2.25 

7 

6.25 

31.5 

1.96 

44.7 

.05 

.02 

Aver.    . 

50 

4.5 

2.25 

7 

6.3 

32.5 

2.05 

45 

.06  |  .03 

Milk  Testing  6%  Fat 


I  

50 

6 

3 

7 

6.5 

40.7 

2.65 

44 

.12 

.052 

II  

50 

6 

3 

7 

6.5 

40 

2.6 

44 

.10 

.044 

III.  ... 

50 

6 

3 

7 

6.5 

36 

2.34 

44 

.2 

.088 

Aver.  . 

50 

6 

3 

7 

6.5 

39  |  2.53 

44 

.14 

.061 

The  above  illustration  shows  that  with  a  ratio  of  skim  milk 
to  cream,  of  85  to  15  and  all  other  conditions  remaining  con- 

1  Hunziker.— -Why  Cream  Tests  Vary.     Purdue  Bulletin  No.  150,  1911  and 
1915. 


106 


CONDITIONS  AFFECTING  RICHNESS  OF  CREAM 


slant,  three  per  cent  milk  produces  20  per  cent  cream,  four 
and  one-half  per .  cent  milk  produces  30  per  cent  cream  and 
six  per  cent  milk  produces  40  per  cent  cream.  The  correct- 
ness of  this  rule  is  further  demonstrated  by  results  of  sepa- 
rator experiments  conducted  by  the  Purdue  University  Agri- 
cultural Experiment  Station,  as  summarized  in  table  11. 

Similar  results  were  also  obtained  by  Eckles  and  Wayman1 
and  by  Guthrie.2 

It  is  further  interesting  to  note  that  the  difference  in  the  rich- 
ness of  cream  from  milk  of  different  per  cents  of  fat  increases 
as  the  ratio  of  skim  milk  to  cream  becomes  wider.  This  rule  is 
shown  in  the  following  figures. 

Table  12. — Relation  of  Richness  of  Cream  to  Ratio  of  Skim 
Milk  to   Cream. 


Ratio  of  Skim 
Milk   to   Cream 

Per  Cent   Fat   in   Cream   from 

Difference  in  Per 
Cent  Fat  in  Cream 

3  Per  Cent  Milk 

6  Per  Cent  Milk 

80  to  20 
85  to  15 

90  to  10  - 

15 
20 
30 

30 
40 
60 

15 
20 
30 

The  per  cent  of  fat  in  the  milk  separated  does  not  appreciably 
affect  the  skimming  efficiency,  the  per  cent  of  fat  found  in  the 
skim  milk  from  rich  and  poor  milk  being  practically  the  same. 

Effect  of  Speed  of  Separator  on  Richness  of  Cream.— The 
higher  the  speed  of  the  separator  the  higher  the  per  cent  of  fat 
in  the  cream.  This  rule  applies  in  the  case  of  most  separators 
and  under  most  conditions.  The  influence  of  the  speed  on  the 
richness  of  the  cream  is  largely  due  to  the  direct  effect  of  the 
speed  on  the  ratio  of  skim  milk  to  cream. 

The  higher  the  speed  the  greater  the  centrifugal  force  and 
the  more  rapidly  will  the  skim  milk  leave  the  bowl.  An  increase 
in  speed  therefore  increases  the  capacity  of  the  skim  milk  dis- 
charge. This,  means  less  milk  for  the  cream  .outlet  and  con- 
sequently richer  cream.  A  decrease  in  the  speed  lessens  the 

1  Eckles  and  Wayman. — Factors  Affecting  the  Per  Cent  of  Fat  in  Cream 
from  Farm  Separators.     Missouri  Bulletin  94,  1911. 

2  Guthrie. — Variations  in  the   Tests   for   Fat   in   Cream   and   in   Skimmed 
Milk.    Cornell  Bulletin  360,  1915. 


CONDITIONS  AFFECTING  RICHNESS  OF 


107 


centrifugal  force,  retards  the  escape  of  the  skim  milk,  reduces 
the  capacity  of  the  skim  milk  outlet  and  more  milk  has  to  be 
discharged  through  the  cream  outlet.  The  cream,  therefore,  is 
thinner.  In  the  following  table  are  summarized  results  of  ex- 
periments1 showing  the  effect  of  the  speed  of  the  separator  on 
the  richness  of  the  cream. 

Table  13. — Effect  of  Speed  of  Separator  on  Richness  of  Cream. 


Experi- 
ment 
No. 

Time  of 
Separation 
Mift 

Cream 

Skim  Milk 

Lbs. 

Fat 

% 

Fat 
Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Fat 

% 

Fat 
Lbs. 

Low  Speed 


1  

9 

9.5 

11 

1.05 

40.3 

2.8 

1.1 

II     

9 

95 

10 

95 

396 

29 

1  15 

Ill 

9 

9.7 

11  5 

1  12 

398 

25 

1 

Average 

9 

96 

108 

1  04 

399 

273 

1  08 

Normal  Speed 


I  

55 

5.2 

41  5 

2.17 

44.8 

04 

.02 

11 

7 

47 

45 

2  12 

448 

07 

.03 

III  

7 

5.1 

40 

2.04 

44.5 

.07 

.03 

Average    . 

6.5 

5 

42.2 

2.11 

44.7 

.06 

.03 

High  Speed 


I  

6 

33 

655 

21 

46.5 

.01 

II  

65 

35 

595 

208 

45.9 

.03 

.01 

Ill  

65 

3.1 

65 

202 

46.6 

.06 

.03 

Average 

633 

33 

627 

207 

46.3 

.03 

.01 

These  facts  apply  with  all  separators  and  under  all  con- 
ditions where  the  skim  milk  and  cream  exits  are  so  adjusted 
that  the  skim  milk  outlet  is  farther  from;  the  center  of  the  bowl 
than  the  cream  outlet.  This  is  the  case  with  most  separators 
and  under  most  conditions. 

Additional  factors  which  may  enter  into  the  causes  of  richer 
cream,  as  the  result  of  higher  speed,  are  the  reduced  relative 
friction  in  the  skim  milk  outlet,  due  to  the  larger  volume  of  skim 
milk  discharged  and  the  increased  relative  friction  in  the  cream 
outlet  due  to  the  greater  viscosity  of  the  richer  cream.  Further- 
more, the  more  complete  separation  in  the  case  of  high  speed 
may  in  part  at  least  be  conducive  of  richer  cream. 

1  Hunziker.— Why  Cream  Tests  Vary.     Purdue  Bulletin  No.  150,   1911. 


108 


CONDITIONS  AFFECTING  RICHNESS  OF  CREAM 


SPEED 


L0W  SPEED 


£.o$5  in  SKinmtK 


H/6H3PEED 


Pl8T-  13 

However,  the  effect  of  the  speed  of  the  separator  varies  to 
some  extent  with  the  richness  of  the  cream  for  which  the  sep- 
arator is  set.  When  set  for  rich  cream  there  is  a  greater  difference 
in  the  per  cent  of  fat  of  the  resulting  cream  between  high  speed 
and  low  speed  than  when  set  for  thin  cream.  This  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  when  the  machine  is  adjusted  to  produce  rich  cream, 
the  relative  difference  between  the  distance  of  the  skim  milk  and 
cream  outlets  from  the  center  of  the  bowl  is  proportionately 
greater,  the  proportion  of  skim  milk  discharged  is  larger,  less 
milk  is  left  to  pass  out  with  the  cream,  the  cream  is  richer  and 
the  influence  of  the  speed  is  greater  than  when  the  separator  is 
set  for  thin  cream.  When  set  for  thin  cream  the  relative  dif- 
ference between  the  distance  of  the  skim  milk  and  cream  outlets 
from  the  center  is  smaller,  the  effect  of  the  speed  on  the  capacity 
of  the  skim  milk  and  cream  discharge  is  more  nearly  equalized, 
causing  less  variation  in  the  richness  of  the  cream  due  to  changes 
in  speed. 

In  separators,  or  under  conditions,  causing  the  cream  outlet 
to  be  located  farther  from  the  center  than  the  skim  milk  outlet, 
a  high  speed  will  even  yield  less  skim  milk,  more  cream  and 
thinner  cream  than  a  low  speed.  This  is  the  case  with  the 
Simplex  separator,  for  instance,  when  adjusted  to  produce  thin 


CONDITIONS  AFFECTING  RICHNESS  OF  CRSAM 


109 


cream,  as  shown  in  Table  14,  representing  results  obtained  by 
Eckles  and  Wayman.1 

Table  14. — Effect  of  Speed.     Simplex  Separator  No.  2  (1540). 

Full  speed   50  revolutions  of  cran'k  per  minute. 

Three-fourths  speed  37  revolutions  of  crank  per  minute. 

Half  speed 25  revolutions  of  crank  per  minute. 

Temperature  uniformly  90°. 


o""1 

b 

^g 

4* 

L 

I* 

2 

03 

|gd 

03  *•"* 

3 

CCQ 

5*4 

=  1 

*i 

0 

3 

£ 

Speed 

5 

L. 

5^ 

If 

s« 

S*M 
3 

i! 

Sg 

£ 

I" 

1" 

h 

Full  Speed     

3.126 

16.684 

19.810 

1—5.33 

31.3 

.02 

5.0 

31.3 

.03 

17 

Three-fourths   Speed. 

3.200 

16.522 

19.722 

1—5.16 

30.2 

.06 

5.0 

30.1 

.06 

Half  Speed 

3.128 

16.532 

19.660 

1—5.29 

29.0 

.31 

5.0 

28.9 

.32 

Full  Speed       

2.448 

17.490 

19.938 

1—7.14 

39.6 

.03 

5.1 

39.8 

.03 

18 

Three-fourths    Speed. 

2.708 

16.896 

19.604 

il-<5.23 

35.4 

.06 

5.1 

35.6 

.05 

Half  Speed         .      ... 

3.052 

16.576 

19.628 

1—5.43 

30.0 

.20 

5.1 

29.8 

.23 

Full  Speed  

4.238 

15.645 

19.883 

1—3.69 

21.4 

.03 

4.9 

21.4 

.03 

19 

Three-fourths    Speed. 

3.863 

15.975 

19.838 

1—4.13 

23.2 

.07 

4.9 

23.1 

.07 

Half  Speed     

3.206 

16.433 

19.639 

1—5.11 

26.8 

.25 

4.9 

26.8 

.25 

Full  Speed 

4.365 

15.723 

20.088 

1—3.59 

20.6 

.03 

4.8 

20.6 

.03 

20 

Three-fourths   Speed. 

3.975 

15.969 

19.944 

1—4.03 

22.2 

.05 

4.8 

22.2 

.06 

Half  Speed 

2.868 

16.826 

19.694 

1—5.85 

28.0 

.36 

4.8 

28.2 

.36 

The  above  table  shows  that,  while  with  rich  cream  the  ratio 
of  skim  milk  to  cream  and  the  per  cent  of  fat  in  the  cream  de- 
creased as  the  speed  was  reduced,  with  cream  low  in  fat  the 

1  Eckles  and  Wayman. — Factors  Affecting  the  Per  Cent  of  Fat  In  Cream 
from   Farm   Separators.      Missouri   Bulletin  No.   94,    1911. 


110 


CONDITIONS  AFFECTING  RICHNESS  OF  CREAM 


reverse  was  the  case.  As  the  speed  was  reduced  the  ratio  of  skim 
milk  to  cream  and  the  per  cent  of  fat  in  cream  increased.  These 
differences  are  due  to  the  relative  position  of  the  skim  milk  and 
cream  outlets. 

Effect  of  Rate  of  Inflow  on  the  Richness  of  the  Cream.— The 
rate  of  inflow  exerts  a  marked  influence  on  the  richness  of  the 
cream  as  shown  in  the  table  below. 

Table  15. — Effect  of  Rate  of  Inflow  on  Richness  of  Cream. 


Experi- 
ment 
No. 

Milk 

Time  of 
Separa- 
tion 
Min. 

Cream 

Skim  Milk 

Lbs. 

Fat 

% 

Fat 
Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Fat 

% 

Fat 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Fat 

% 

Fat 
Lbs. 

Small  Inflow 


I  

50 

43 

215 

11 

286 

70 

202 

46.7 

.05 

.02 

II    .  .. 

50 

44 

22 

11 

3  12 

68 

212 

46.4 

.12 

.06 

III.  ... 

50 

4.8 

2.4 

12 

3.42 

71.5 

2.44 

46.3 

.08 

.04 

Aver.   .  . 

50 

4.5 

2.25 

11JS 

3.13 

70 

2.19 

46.5 

.08 

.04 

Normal  Inflow 


1 

50 

43 

215 

7 

5  5    |  37.5 

206 

44.2 

1 

.04 

II  

50 

4.4 

2.2 

7 

5.37  |  40 

2.15 

44.1 

.05 

.02 

III.  ... 

50 

3.8 

2.4 

7 

4.37  |  58.5 

2.55 

45.5 

.03 

.01 

Aver.    .  . 

50 

4.5 

2.25 

7 

5.08  |  44.3 

2.25 

44.6 

.06 

.02 

Large  Inflow 


I 

50 

43 

2  15 

6 

45 

23  5 

106 

451 

25 

.11 

II    

50 

4.4 

2.2 

Q 

775 

26.5 

205 

42.1 

77 

.11 

Ill  

50 

4.8 

2.4 

6 

4.86 

51.7 

2.51 

44.7 

.05 

.02 

Aver.   .  . 

50 

4.5 

2.25 

6 

5.70 

32.8 

1.87 

44 

.19 

.08 

The  results  in  table  15  show  that  the  richness  of  the  cream 
increases  as  the  rate  of  inflow  decreases  and  vice  versa.  This 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  when  the  rate  of 'inflow  increases  the 
capacity  of  the  cream  outlet  increases  proportionately  greater 
than  the  capacity  of  the  skim  milk  outlet,  while  a  decrease  in 
the  inflow  causes  a  greater  decrease  in  the  capacity  of  the  cream 
outlet  than  in  that  of  the  skim  milk  outlet.  The  average  re- 
sults of  experiments  with  a  small,  normal  and  large  inflow  as 
tabulated  above  show  the  following  proportion  of  cream  to  skim 
milk,  Table  16. 


CONDITIONS  AFFECTING  RICHNESS  OF  CREAM  111 


IHfLOW. 


30OIBS 


SMALL  1/1FLOW 


*,**.&* 


Pig-.  14 

Table  16.— Effect  of  Rate  of  Inflow  on  Ratio  of  Skim  Milk 

to  Cream. 


Rate  of  Inflow 

Cream 

Skim   Milk 

Ratio  of 
Cream  to 
Skim  Milk 

Lbs. 

% 

Lbs. 

% 

50  Ibs.  in  11  Minutes 

3.13 

6.26 

46.5     |      93 

1  :  14.86 

50  Ibs.  in  7  Minutes. 

5.08 

10.16 

44.6 

89.2 

1:   8.78 

50  Ibs.  in  6  Minutes. 

5.70 

11.40 

44.0 

88.0 

1;    7.72 

It  was  formerly  assumed  that  the  skim  miilk  discharge  was 
constant  and  was  not  influenced  by  the  rate  of  inflow  and  that 
all  the  additional  milk  of  an  increased  inflow  would  escape 
through  the  cream  discharge.  The  above  experimental  results 
show  this  to  be  erroneous.  The  skim  milk  discharge  increased 
very  materially  with  the  increase  in  the  rate  of  inflow  as  shown 
in  Table  16  and  in  the  following  summary:1 


1  Hunziker.— Why  Cream  Tests  Vary.     Purdue  Agr.  Expt.  Station.     Bull, 
No.    150,    1911. 


112 


CONDITIONS  AFFECTING  RICHNESS  OF  CREAM 


Skim  milk  discharged 
per  minute 


Ollldll     IIJIIUW      

Normal  inflow    

11 
44.6 

t.£o  puunus 
6  37  pounds 

L/arge  inflow  .            .  . 

7      
44.0 

7  33  pounds 

6     

Effect  of  Temperature  of  Milk  on  Richness  of  Cream. — The 
temperature  of  the  milk  influences  the  richness  of  the  cream 
yielded  by  the  separator  to  a  marked  degree. 

Table  17.— -Showing  Effect  of  Temperature  of  Milk  on  Richness 

of  Cream.1 


Experi- 
ment 
No. 

Time  of 
Separa- 
tion 
Min. 

Milk 

Cream 

Skim  Milk 

Lbs. 

Fat 
% 

Fat 
Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Fat 

% 

Fat 
Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Fat 

% 

Fat 
Lbs. 

Normal   Temperature— 90  to   95°   F. 


I  

7 

50 

3.8 

1.9 

9 

17.5 

1.58 

41 

.03 

.01 

11  .  . 

5 

31.5 

41 

1  29 

4.5 

28 

1  26 

27 

.03 

.01 

Ill  

8 

50 

4 

2 

9.7 

20.5 

2 

40.9 

.02 

.01 

IV  

8.5 

50 

4 

2 

10.1 

20 

2.02 

39.8 

.01 

V  

7.5 

50 

4 

2 

10.1 

20 

2.02 

40.3 

.01 

Aver.  .  . 

7.2 

46.3 

3.98 

1.84 

8.68 

21.2 

1.78 

37.8 

.02 

.01 

Low  Temperature — 50  to  60°    F. 


I       .  .. 

9 

50 

38 

1  9 

2 

325 

65 

48 

1.50 

.72 

II  . 

7 

32 

41 

1.31 

1.5 

43 

.65 

28.5 

2.10 

.63 

III.  .... 

7.5 

50 

4 

2 

7.2 

27 

1.94 

43.6 

.05 

.02 

IV  

7.5 

50 

4 

2 

7.3 

28 

2.04 

44.3 

.03 

.01 

V.    ..... 

7.5 

50 

4 

2 

7.2 

28 

2.02 

44.1 

.05 

.02 

Aver.    .  . 

7.6 

46.4 

3.98 

1.84 

5.04 

31.7 

1.46 

41.7 

.75 

.28 

The  experimental  results  summarized  in  the  above  table 
show  that  cold  milk  yields  richer  cream  than  warm  milk.  The 
cream  from  the  cold  milk  averaged  31.7  per  cent  fat,  while  the 
cream  from  milk  separated  at  90  to  95  degrees  F.  averaged  21.2 
per  cent  fat.  The  difference  would  probably  have  been  con- 
siderably greater,  had  it  not  been  for  the  excessive  loss  of  fat  in 
the  skim  milk  from  the  cold  milk,  which  reduced  the  amount 
of  fat  supplying  the  cream  discharge. 

The  cream  from  the  cold  milk  is  thicker  and  more  viscous 
than  that  from  the  warm  milk.  This  greater  viscosity  renders 

HHunziker,  Why  Cream  Tests  Vary,  Purdue  Bulletin  150,  1911. 


CONDITIONS  AFFECTING  RICHNESS  OF  CREAM 


113 


it  more  sluggish  in  its  escape  from  the  bowl,  it  passes  off  more 
slowly,  thereby  decreasing  the  capacity  of  the  cream  outlet,  and 
more  of  the  milk  is  forced  through  the  skim  milk  outlet. 


EFFtlCTSFTlEMIPSl 


OTM/LKS0T 


/00/t 

effFA/i  COMTA/flS 
JL0JS  M  SMflfllLK     .3  - 


33.?* 


Pig1.  15 

The  fact  that  the  cold  milk  has  a  higher  specific  gravity 
than  the  warm  milk  may  cause  the  skim  milk  to  escape  with 
slightly  more  force,  thus  further  increasing  the  capacity  of  the 
skim  milk  outlet.  It  is  not  improbable,  also,  that  the  warm  milk 
is  sufficiently  more  fluid  than  the  cold  milk  to  increase  the  rate 
of  inflow  and  thereby  increase  the  relative  volume  of  the  cream 
discharge  in  greater  proportion  than  the  skim  milk  discharge. 
The  results  above  recorded,  however,  fail  to  show  a  uniform  in- 
crease in  the  rate  of  inflow  of  the  warm  milk;  in  fact  in  two 
out  of  five  experiments  the  opposite  was  the  case. 

In  the  case  of  some  separators  the  bowl  commences  to  clog 
when  cold  milk  is  passed  through  the  machine.  When  this 
happens  the  cream  from  the  cold  milk  is  usually  thinner  than 
that  from  the  warm  milk.  A  part  of  the  butterfat  in  the  bowl, 
churns  into  a  roll  of  butter  and  only  a  small  amount  of  cream 
is  discharged  and  this  cream  is  very  low  in  butterfat.  This  phe- 
nomenon is  shown  in  table  18. 


114 


CONDITIONS  AFFECTING  RICHNESS  OF  CREAM 


Table  18. — Effect  of  Low  Temperature  of  Milk  on  Richness  of 
Cream  when  Bowl  Clogs.1 


Temper- 
ature 

Time  of 

Milk 

Cream 

Skim  Milk 

Separa 
tion 
Min. 

Lbs. 

Fat 

% 

Fat 
Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Fat 
% 

Fat 
Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Fat 

% 

Fat 
Lbs. 

95°    R... 
50°   F.... 

.4 

7 

32 
30 

4.1 
4.1 

1.31 
1.23 

4.5 
1.5 

26 
12 

1.17 
.18 

26 

25 

.03 
3.6 

.01 
.90 

As  already  stated  in  chapter  on  "Effect  of  Temperature  of 
Milk  on  the  Skimming  Efficiency  of  the  Separator,"  as  far  as  the 
farm  separator  is  concerned,  the  milk  is  in  the  best  condition 
for  separation  in  every  respect,  immediately  after  each  milking.  In 
the  factory,  facilities  for  heating  the  milk  to  and  holding  it  at 
90  degrees  F.  or  over  should  be  provided. 

Effect  of  Amount  of  Water  or  Skim  Milk  used  to  Flush  the 
Bowl  on  Richness  of  Cream. — While  this  is  strictly  a  minor  fac- 
tor in  the  control  of  the  richness  of  the  cream,  it  should  be 
understood  that  the  indiscriminate  flushing  of  the  bowl  may 
dilute  the  cream  unnecessarily. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  the  bowl  be  properly  flushed  after 
each  separation.  This  removes  most  of  the  remnants  of  milk 
and  cream,  and  loosens  the  separator  slime  in  the  bowl,  making 
subsequent  washing  more  easy.  In  order  to  accomplish  this,  all 
that  is  necessary  is  to  run  water  into  the  bowl  until  the  dis- 
charge spout  appears  watery. 

Table  19.— Effect  of  Amount  of  Water  Used  to  Flush  the  Bowl 
on  the  Richness  of  the  Cream.1 


Amount  Water  Used  to  Flush  Bowl 


Twice    the 

Experi- 

Same as 

Till   Cream 

Arnt.    Needed 

ment 

None 

Capacity 

Discharge 

for    Watery 

No. 

of  Bowl 

was  Watery 

Cream   Dis- 

charge 

Fat  % 

Fat  % 

Fat  % 

Fat  % 

I     

32 

32 

31 

29 

II 

30 

30 

29 

28 

III. 

58 

56 

51 

48 

IV  

31 

31 

30 

29 

Average.  .  . 

37.8 

37.3 

35 

33.5 

1  Hunziker,  Why  Cream  Tests  Vary,  Purdue  Bulletin  150,  1911. 


ADVANTAGES  OF  CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATOR 


115 


Effect  of  Slime  in  Bowl  of  Separator  on  Richness  of  Cream. 
— Experiments  conducted  by  Guthrie  and  Supplee1  show  that 
deposits  of  slime  in  the  bowl  do  not  have  any  appreciable  effect 
on  the  richness  of  the  cream  so  long  as  the  slime  does  not  clog 
the  passages. 
Advantages  of  Centrifugal  Separator  over  Gravity  Creaming. 

The  operation  of  the  centrifugal  separator  has  undisputed 
advantages  over  the  gravity  systems  of  creaming.  The  chief  of 
these  are: 

1.  Greater  skimming  efficiency. 

2.  Richer  cream. 

3.  Better  quality  of  cream  and  skim  milk 

4.  More  uniform  richness  of  cream 

Greater  Skimming  Efficiency. — The  centrifugal  separator  is 
the  most  efficient  apparatus  available  for  the  separation  of  milk. 
Below  table  shows  the  relative  skimming  efficiency  as  secured 
experimentally.2 

Table  20. — Per  cent  of  Fat  in  Cream  and  Skim  Milk  of  the  Four 
Different  Systems  of  Creaming  under  Most  Favorable  Conditions. 


Hand  Separator 

Deep-Setting 

Shallow   Pan 

Water-Dilution 

S'kim 

|  Skim 

Skim 

Skim 

Milk 

Cream 

Milk 

Milk 

Cream 

Milk 

Milk 

Cream 

Milk 

Milk 

Cream 

Milk 

Lbs. 

% 

% 

Lbs. 

% 

% 

Lbs. 

% 

% 

Lbs. 

% 

% 

Fat 

Fat 

Fat 

Fat 

Fat 

Fat 

Fat 

Fat 

31 

33. 

.01 

20 

32. 

.2 

50 

30. 

.55 

64 

22. 

.70 

31 

29. 

.03 

30 

29. 

.15 

50 

26. 

.40 

64 

21.5 

.68 

40 

34. 

.01 

27 

27. 

.16 

52 

31. 

.38 

60 

25. 

.70 

34 

30. 

.02 

30 

30. 

.18 

48 

32. 

.42 

60 

26. 

.60 

35 

32. 

.02 

28 

32. 

.18 

50 

26. 

.46 

56 

25.5 

.74 

34 

33. 

.03 

26 

26. 

.15 

50 

27. 

.44 

56 

24. 

.68 

46 

33. 

.01 

28 

24.5 

.17 

52 

25. 

.48 

60 

31. 

.72 

38 

30. 

.02 

25 

28. 

.15 

50 

32. 

.02 

30 

25.5 

.18 

38 

30. 

.02 

30 

28. 

.18 

38 

28. 

.02 

38 

33. 

.02 

Average            .02 

.17 

.44 

.68 

A  glance  at  the  above  table  reveals  the  superiority  of  the 


and  Supplee,  Variations  in  the  Tests  for  Fat  in  Cream  and  Skim 
Milk,  Cornell  Bulletin  360,  1915. 

2  Hunziker,  The  Hand  Separator  and  the  Gravity  Systems  of  Creaming,  Pur- 
due Bulletin  116,   1906. 


116 


ADVANTAGES  OF  CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATOR 


centrifugal  separator  over  the  gravity  systems  of  creaming  Even 
in  the  deep-setting  system,,  which  causes  the  least  loss  of  fat 
in  the  skim  milk  of  any  of  the  gravity  systems,  the  loss  of  fat 
is  8.5  times  as  great  as  that  incurred  with  the  centrifugal  separa- 
tor; the  shallow  pan  and  water  dilution  system  lost  22  and  34 
times,  respectively,  as  much  fat  in  the  skim  milk  as  the  cen- 
trifugal separator. 

The  loss  of  butter  fat  with  the  gravity  system  of  creaming 
would  probably  have  been  even  greater,  had  an  attempt  been 
made  to  secure  a  richer  cream.  For  buttermaking,  cream  con- 
taining from  30  to  35  per  cent  fat  is  most  suitable.  It  is  difficult, 
even  under  the  best  conditions,  with  the  gravity  systems,  to 
produce  cream  testing  30  per  cent  fat,  it  is  practically  impos- 
sible to  do  so  without  a  material  increase  in  the  per  cent  of  fat 
lost  in  the  skim  milk. 

Expressed  in  pounds  of  butter  lost  in  the  skim  milk  of  one 
cow  in  one  year,  the  loss  assumes  an  importance  which  no  pro- 
gressive dairyman  can  afford  to  ignore.  It  is  obvious  that  even 
at  very  moderate  butter  prices,  the  centrifugal  separator  in  the 
skimming  of  the  milk  of  a  herd  of  5  to  10  cows  would  save 
enough  butterfat  in  less  than  two  years  to  pay  for  itself,  as 
shown  in  table  21.  These  figures  are  based  on  the  assumption 
that  each  100  pounds  of  milk  yields  87  pounds  of  skim  milk,  that 
a  20  per  cent  overrun  is  secured  and  that  butter  sells  at  50  cents 
per  pound. 

Table  21. — Loss  Incurred  by  the  Four  Systems  of  Creaming  at 
50  Cents  per  Pound  of  Butter  in  One  Year. 


Cows 

Milk 

Value  of  Butter  Lost  by  the  Use  of  Different 
Methods  of  Creaming 

No. 

Pounds 

Hand 
Separator 
$ 

Deep 
Setting 
Method 

$ 

Shallow 
Pan 
Method 
$ 

Water 
Dilution 
Method 
$ 

1 
5 
10 

5,000 
25,000 
50,000 

.52 
2.60 
5.20 

4.44 
22.19 
44.37 

11.48 
57.40 
114.80 

17.75 
88.74 
177.48 

Better  Quality  and  Richer  Cream. — The  centrifugal  separa- 
tor makes  it  possible  for  the  creamery  and  for  the  dairy  farmer 


ADVANTAGES  OF  CENTRIFUGAL  SEPARATOR  117 

to  secure  a  pure,  sweet  and  wholesome  cream  which  can  be 
made  into  a  first  class  butter.  In  the  whole  milk  creamery, 
where  the  btittermaker  has  exclusive  control  over  the  cream  as 
soon  as  it  leaves  the  separator,  conditions  are  most  ideal  and 
the  verdict  of  the  butter  markets  of  this  country  is  proof  of  the 
fact  that  our  best  butter  comes  from  the  whole-milk  creameries. 

The  cream  that  arrives  at  our  gathered  cream  plants,  as  a 
general  rule  does  not  grade  high  enough  to  make  "Extras." 
This  fact  is  one  of  the  main  drawbacks  of  the  gathered  cream 
plant.  While  much  of  this  cream  is  hand  separator  cream,  the 
fault  cannot  be  attributed  to  the  separator.  It  is  obvious  that 
just  as  good  cream  can  be  produced  by  the  use  of  the  hand 
separator  as  with  the  factory  machine.  The  fault  lies  not  with 
the  use,  but  with  the  abuse  of  the  separator.  When  proper  at- 
tention is  given  to  cleanliness  in  the  operation  of  the  separator 
and  the  handling  of  the  cream,  to  prompt  cooling  and  to  frequent 
delivery,  the  resulting  cream  is  bound  to  be  in  proper  condition 
to  make  good  butter. 

Not  so,  however,  where  the  cream  is  separated  by  gravity. 
The  gravity  cream,  is  to-day  considered  the  scum  of  the  raw 
material  which  the  creameries  receive.  Creameries  which 
practice  systematic  grading  are  generally  forced  to  place  gravity 
cream  in  their  lowest  grade  and  many  creameries  pay  several 
cents  less  for  such  cream  than  for  separator  cream. 

There  are  many  reasons  for  the  inferiority  of  gravity  cream : 
It  is  usually  old  because  time  is  required  for  setting.  It  is 
always  relatively  low  in  butter  fat  and  this,  together  with  its 
age,  causes  it  under  average  conditions  to  be  of  very  poor  quality 
by  the  time  it  reaches  the  creamery.  Its  dilution  deprives  the 
buttermaker  of  the  opportunity  to  improve  it  by  the  addition  of 
starter.  This  thin  cream  yields  a  relatively  large  amount  of 
buttermilk  which  in  turn  means  heavy  loss  of  fat.  This  loss  is 
increased  also  by  the  fact  that  this  thin  cream,  especially  when 
pasteurized,  does  not  churn  out  exhaustively  and  finally  the 
cream,  owing  to  its  thinness  and  its  usual  contamination  with 
undesirable  ferments,  deteriorates  rapidly,  yielding  a  low  grade 
of  butter. 


118  RECEIVING  MILK  AND  CREAM 

CHAPTER  VI. 
RECEIVING  MILK  AND  CREAM. 

When  the  milk  or  cream  is  received  by  the  creamery,  or 
cream  station  and  before  it  enters  the  manufacturing  process,  it 
is  graded,  weighed,  sampled  and  "dumped"  and  the  cans  are 
washed,  rinsed,  steamed  and  dried  and  retagged  preparatory  to 
returning. 

Grading  of  Cream,  Importance. — iFrom  the  standpoint  of 
improving  the  quality  of  cream  received  by  the  creamery  the  use 
of  an  efficient  system  of  cream  grading  is  all  important.  Until 
recent  years  the  cream  grading  has  received  very  little  attention 
by  our  creameries.  Little,  if  any  grading  was  done  and  the  same 
price  was  paid  for  good  and  poor  cream.  This  has  resulted  in 
a  general  depreciation  of  the  quality  of  the  cream  furnished  by 
the  farmer,  there  was  no  material  inducement  to  the  farmer  to 
make  a  special  effort  in  the  care  of  the  cream  on  the  farm. 
Unless  his  personal  pride  and  decency  prompted  him  to  produce 
a  clean,  sanitary  and  properly  cooled  cream,  he  was  all  too  ready 
to  follow  the  line  of  the  least  resistance  and  pay  no  attention 
to  the  quality  of  the  cream  he  furnished.  In  fact,  the  failure  of 
the  creamery  to  grade  cream  put  a  premium  on  shiftless  and 
careless  handling  of  cream  on  the  farm  and  on  the  receipt  of 
poor  cream  in  the  factory. 

In  consequence  of  this  disregard  for  quality  of  raw  material, 
much  of  the  butter  annually  reaching  the  market  was  of  un- 
satisfactory quality,  the  keeping  property  of  much  of  this  but- 
ter was  inferior,  causing  it  to  come  out  of  storage  in  deteriorated 
condition,  large  quantities  of  butter  had  to  be  sold  under  market 
quotations,  inviting  keen  competition  by  foreign  butter  and  but- 
ter substitutes  and  rendering  the  establishment  of  a  reputation 
for  American  butter  in  foreign  countries  exceedingly  slow  and 
difficult. 

Development  of  Cream  Grading. — Within  the  last  five  to 
ten  years,  the  pure  food  wave  that  has  swept  the  country  awaken- 
ing the  public  to  a  keener  appreciation  of  the  value  of  whole- 
some food  products  of  good  quality,  the  realization  on  the 


RECEIVING  MILK  AND  CREAM  119 

part  of  the  creamerymen  of  the  necessity  of  supplying  the  market 
with  bettter  butter  in  order  to  dispose  of  it  at  a  satisfactory  mar- 
gin, and  the  efforts  of  the  dairy  educational  forces  to  introduce 
practical  methods  for  the  systematic  grading  of  cream,  have  been 
mighty  factors  in  focusing  the  attention  of  the  creamerymen  on 
improving  their  cream  supply  by  cream  grading  and  quality- 
paying. 

The  earlier  efforts  at  cream  grading  were  largely  abortive. 
In  isolated  cases  some  concerns  had  the  courage  and  determina- 
tion to  grade  and  pay  on  the  basis  of  grade  only.  But  the  great 
majority  of  creameries,  while  acknowledging  the  fundamental 
correctness  of  cream  grading,  lacked  the  courage  to  undertake 
it.  Their  intentions  foundered  on  the  rock  of  competition  in 
the  cream  supply  territory.  They  lacked  confidence  in  each  other 
to  stand  by  mutual  agreements  to  start  grading  and  quality-pay- 
ing. They  were  fearful  of  losing  patrons  and  of  working  into 
the  hands  of  their  competitors.  Gentlemen's  agreements,  drafted 
in  sectional  and  national  conferences  of  creamerymen  to  grade 
cream-  proved  futile.  Attempts  to  place  legislative  measures  on 
the  statute  books,  requiring  the  grading  of  cream  proved  uncon- 
stitutional, and  Government  inspection  of  the  creameries  for  the 
purpose  of  compelling  nation-wide  cream  grading  did  not  ma- 
terialize because  of  the  enormity  of  the  proposed  undertaking. 

While  most  of  these  proposed  and  apparently  ideal  plans 
failed  to  materialize  and  were  automatically  abandoned,  one  after 
another,  the  constant  agitation  of  the  subject  did  not  fail  to 
have  its  good  effect.  While  it  became  clear  to  all  practical 
creamerymen  that  the  industry  was  not  ripe  as  yet  for  an 
organized  state-  or  nation-wide  plan  of  cream  grading  by  mutual 
agreement  between  creameries,  farsighted  creamerymen  realized 
that  this  complex  and  difficult  matter  was  a  problem  to  be  solved 
independently  by  each  individual  creamery  and  that  it  was  to 
the  unquestioned  advantage  of  each  individual  concern  to  in- 
troduce cream  grading  in  their  own  plants. 

Today  most  of  the  really  progressive  creameries,  large  and 
small,  are  grading  their  cream  and  many  of  these  creameries  pay 
the  farmer  on  the  basis  of  quality.  Those  who  have  taken  this 


120  RECEIVING  MII<K  AND  CREAM 

important  step  are  already  convinced  of  its  permanent  advan- 
tages and  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  all  creameries,  for 
their  own  protection,  will  adopt  a  rational  system  of  cream  grad- 
ing and  paying  on  the  basis  of  quality.  They  are  bound 
to  come  to  the  inevitable  conclusion  that,  in  order  to  secure 
satisfactory  returns  from  the  market,  they  must  furnish  the 
market  with  good  butter,  that  they  cannot  hold  the  patronage 
of  the  cream  producer  to  furnish  good  cream  unless  they  pay 
him  a  differential  on  the  basis  of  quality,  and  that  the  paying  of 
top  prices  for  butterfat  of  poor  quality  must  ultimately  spell 
financial  loss  and  ruin. 

Methods  of  Grading. — One  of  the  serious  obstacles  that  has 
been  responsible  for  much  delay  in  the  general  adoption  of  grad- 
ing cream  has  been  the  difficulty  of  doing  this  work  correctly, 
and  the  absence  of  a  method  practical,  rapid  and  applicable  under 
average  creamery  conditions.  Efforts  to  use  chemical,  physical 
or  bacteriological  tests  that  would  yield  results  of  specific  de- 
scription and  that  would  make  possible  the  expression  of  different 
grades  in  mathematical  figures,  have  so  far  failed  to  solve  this 
difficult  problem  of  cream  grading.  Such  tests  as  the  acid  test, 
the  boiling  test,  the  sediment  test,  the  curd  test,  the  fermenta- 
tion test,  the  microscopic  test,  which  have  been  in  successful  use 
in  market  milk  plants  and  milk  condenseries  for  years,  were 
found  either  mechanically  impractical  with  cream,  or  their  results 
were  unsuited  for  the  proper  classification  of  different  grades  of 
cream.  The  acid  test  is  practically  the  only  test  that  could  be 
applied  under  average  conditions  of  cream  and  creamery  manage- 
ment. But  its  results  too,  lack  conclusiveness,  because  they  fail 
to  furnish  a  correct  index  to  the  relative  fitness  of  cream  for 
buttermaking.  While,  generally  speaking,  sweet  cream  is  pref- 
erable to  sour  cream,  the  acidity  in  cream  is  by  no  means  the 
chief  defect  of  cream  of  inferior  quality.  This  test  has  there- 
fore never  been  adopted  for  general  use  in  creameries. 

The  really  important  characteristics  of  cream  which  deter- 
mine its  quality,  are  its  odor  and  flavor  and  these  can  be  deter- 
mined successfully  only  by  the  senses  of  smell  and  taste.  Ef- 
ficient cream  grading,  therefore,  of  necessity  resolves  itself  into 


RECEIVING  MitK  AND  CREAM  121 

the  tasting  and  smelling  of  the  cream  and  the  success  of  this 
method  is  controlled  largely  by  the  grader's  keenness  of  these 
senses  and  his  knowledge  and  ability  to  quickly  decide  on  the 
proper  placing  of  cream  so,  graded. 

Grading  by  the  Senses  of  Taste  and  Smell. — The  earlier  at- 
tempts to  grade  cream  by  this  method  were  crude,  unsightly  and 
unsanitary  at  best.  The  operator  sampled  the  cream  by  stick- 
ing his  fingers  into  the  cream  and  "licking"  them  off.  Aside  from 
the  ethical  and  sanitary  aspect,  this  practice  was  objectionable 
because  the  results  were  very  crude,  did  not  permit  of  close 
grading  and  often  were  misleading.  By  this  practice  there  is 
always  danger  of  carrying  the  flavor  of  one  can  to  the  next,  con- 
siderable cream  adhering  to  the  fingers  after  tasting  it.  In  this 
way  the  bad  flavor  of  the  first  can  may  also  be  detected  in  the 
tasting  of  the  next  can,  although  the  cream  in  the  second  can 
may  be  entirely  free  from  that  flavor.  Thus  the  second  can 
would  naturally  be  erroneously  put  in  the  same  grade  as  the  first. 

The  objectionable  features  of  this  method  have  been  cor- 
rected in  many  of  the  more  progressive  creameries  by  tasting  the 
cream  with  a  wooden  stick,  glass  rod  or  spoon,  placed  in  hot 
water  between  dippings. 

A  very  satisfactory  practice  of  grading  cream  is  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Apparatus  needed: 

Two  wooden  sticks,  about  the  size  of  an  ordinary  lead  pencil 
and  preferably  of  maple. 

One  tin  cup  about  8  inches  deep  with  handle. 

One  cream  stirring  rod  with  perforated  disc  at  lower  end. 

One  dental  spittoon  resting  on  a  pipe  standard  about  3  feet 
high  and  with  a  pipe  base  sufficiently  large  to  prevent  tipping 
over.  This  spittoon  should  be  attached  to  the  water  line  by  means 
of  small  rubber  tubing  about  15  feet  long. 

Operating  the  Grading  Test: 

Stir  the  cream  in  the  can  vigorously  with  the  cream  stir- 
rer,  take  its  odor  by  bending  over  the  freshly  stirred  cream. 


122  RECEIVING  MILK  AND  CREAM 

From  the  tin  cup  filled  with  hot  water  take  a  clean  maple  wood 
stick,  dip  up  with  it  a  small  amount  of  cream,  taste  it,  return 
the  stick  to  the  hot  water  in  the  tin  cup  and  use  the  second 
stick  for  the  next  can.  By  this  method  the  hot  water  melts  the 
cream  off  one  stick  while  the  other  one  is  used,  and  thus  insures 
its  freedom  from  cream  of  the  previous  can  when  it  is  again  used. 
Enough  cream  adheres  to  the  end  of  a  stick  of  the  size  of  the 
average  lead  pencil  for  proper  tasting.  A  larger  amount  of  cream 
is  unnecessary  as  well  as  objectionable  for  convenient  grading. 

The  dental  spittoon  serves  to  catch  the  expectorations  of 
the  cream  by  the  grader.  This  is  preferable  to  spitting  on  the 
floor,  which  is  unsightly  and  often  unsanitary.  The  spittoon, 
being  connected  with  the  water  line  by  a  long,  flexible  rubber 
tubing,  can  be  shifted  around  at  will  and  it  stands  high  enough 
to  furnish  an  easy  target  avoiding  splashing  over  the  cans.  The 
expectorations  are  automatically  rinsed  out  of  the  spittoon  and 
disappear  on  the  floor  through  the  hollow  pipe  standard  sup- 
porting it. 

It  is  advisable  to  grade  closely  and  to  allow  to  pass  as  first- 
grade  cream  only,  cans  which  are  free  from  specific  defects  and 
which  are  above  suspicion  and  to  pull  out  and  place  in  second 
grade  all  cans  that  do  not  meet  the  standard  of  first  grade  cream, 
or  cans  about  which  the  grader  is  uncertain.  All  cans  segregated 
out  in  this  manner  should  be  graded  over  and  this  should  prefer- 
ably be  done  by  another  man,  or  the  superintendent.  Enough  time 
should  be  given  and  pains  taken  to  regrade  this  second  grade 
cream  so  as  to  insure  accurate  work.  This  will  often  enable  the 
creamery  to  return  to  first  grade,  cans  of  cream  which  at  first 
sight  proved  uncertain,  thus  increasing  the  per  cent  of  grade  1 
and  decreasing  the  per  cent  of  grade  II.  If  any  cans  are  found 
with  decayed  cream  or  cream  otherwise  unfit  to  be  made  into 
butter,  their  contents  should  be  poured  into  the  sewer  and  the 
patron  should  be  so  notified.  The  sanitary  laws  of  some  states 
require  such  procedure.  In  case  of  dispute  the  co-operation  of 
the  local  or  state  pure  food  or  health  official  should  be  solicited. 
If  for  any  reason  it  is  deemed  advisable  to  return  to  the  farm 
decayed  cream,  it  is  advisable  to  mix  into  it  enough  butter  color 
to  preclude  all  temptation  on  the  part  of  the  producer  to  send 


RECEIVING  MILK  AND  CREAM  123 

it  back  to  the  factory  with  the  next  shipment,  without  ready 
detection  by  the  creamery.  When  cream  is  hauled  or  shipped 
to  the  creamery  in  the  farmer's  individual  can  the  creamery  us- 
ually has'  little  difficulty  in  keeping  the  several  grades  separate. 

In  the  station  system  of  cream  receiving,  the  farmers  haul 
their  cream  to  the  station,  where  it  can  be  graded  in  a  similar 
manner  as  in  the  creamery.  After  grading,  it  is  shipped  to  the 
central  creamery  in  completely  filled  shipping  cans.  In  this  case 
the  operator  should  exercise  great  care  not  to  pour  cream  of  dif- 
ferent grades  together  in  the  same  can,  but  to  use  different  cans 
for  different  grades  and  mark  the  grade  on  the  respective  cans. 
At  the  creamery  the  station  cream  is-regraded  and  if  the  results 
of  the  creamery's  grading  materially  differ  from  those  of  the 
station  operator's  grading,  the  operator  should  be  so  notified. 

In  the  case  of  the  route  system  of  receiving  cream  the  route 
man  should  have  on  his  wagon  properly  marked  cans  for  each 
grade.  He  should  grade  the  cream  received  from  each  farmer 
and  pour  it  into  the  cans  reserved  for  that  grade.  When  the 
route  cream  arrives  at  the  creamery  it  is  regraded  and  if  the 
results  of  the  grading  at  the  creamery  differ  from  those  of  the 
route  man  or  hauler,  his  attention  should  be  called  to  the  same 
promptly. 

The  grader  should  record  all  second  grade  cream  with  nota- 
tions of  the  specific  defect,  on  the  shipping  tag  or  other  blank 
which  goes  to  the  office,  and  the  office  should  promptly  notify 
the  patron  why  his  cream  did  not  pass  grade  1,  with  sugges- 
tions of  how  to  best  guard  against  the  recurrence  of  the  defect. 

Classification  of  Grades. — Much  has  been  said  and  written 
about  specific  grades  and  numerous  are  the  classifications  of 
cream  grades  on  record.  After  all  is  said  and  done,  each  cream- 
ery has  to  ultimately  establish  its  own  individual  standard  of 
grades,  according  to  its  local  conditions  of  supply  and  of  market 
requirements.  It  is  a  comparatively  simple  matter  to  devise  an 
ideal  classification  of  grades,  but  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  suc- 
cessfully follow  such  classifications  under  often  very  perplexing 
and  frequently  unideal  commercial  conditions  of  operation. 
While  every  effort  should  be  made  to  work  toward  a  high  stan- 


124  RECEIVING  MILK  AND 

dard  of  classification,  the  commercial  practicability  of  the  classi- 
fication is  of  the  greatest  ultimate  importance.  One  of  the  ob- 
stacles in  the  way  of  the  general  adoption  of  cream  grading  has 
been  that  the  classifications  of  grades  have  often  been  far  too 
exacting  and  complex  to  make  their  operation  successful.  In 
such  cases,  after  a  few  abortive  attempts  at  grading  the  whole 
principle  of  grading  was  declared  impracticable  and  was  aban- 
doned. The  adoption  of  a  classification  that  corresponds  more 
nearly  with  actual  commercial  conditions,  though  it  may  be  far 
from  ideal,  usually  is  conducive  of  better  net  results,  than  at- 
tempts at  the  use  of  a  classification  that  borders  perfection,  but 
that  is  commercially  impossible  under  prevailing  conditions.  For 
the  great  majority  of  creameries,  a  classification  of  two  grades  is 
all  that  may  reasonably  be  expected.  Creameries  that  supply  a 
limited,  very  critical  trade,  demanding  a  superior  product  may 
find  it  advantageous  to  make  three  grades.  In  such  cases  the 
following  classification  may  be  desirable : 

Grade  I.  Cream  that  is  sweet  or  practically  so  and  free  from 
all  objectionable  odors  and  flavors. 

Grade  II.  Cream  that  is  sour  but  otherwise  free  from  objec- 
tionable odors  and  flavors. 

Grade  III.  Cream  that  does  not  comply  with  the  require- 
ments of  Grades  I  and  II  but  which  is  free  from  putrefaction. 
In  this  class  would  fall  cream  that  may  have  objectionable  odors 
and  flavors,  such  as  weedy,  garlic,  curdy,  gassy,  yeasty  and  other 
off-flavors.  All  cream  containing  decaying  matter  or  other  sub- 
stances of  putrefaction  should  be  rejected. 

For  creameries  whose  trade  requirements  do  not  discriminate 
between  extra  fine  and  fair  quality  and  who  are  not  in  a  position 
to  secure  a  materially  higher  price  for  the  superior  quality,  the 
following  classification  of  grades  is  recommended : 

Grade  I.  Cream  that  is  sweet  or  moderately  sour,  but  free 
from  objectionable  flavors  and  odors. 

Grade  II.  Cream  that  is  free  from  decaying  and  putrefactive 
matter  but  which  may  be  sour  and  contain  objectionable  odors 
and  flavors,  such  as  weedy,  garlic,  cheesy,  gassy,  yeasty  and 


SAMPLING  MILK  AND  CRKAM  125 

other  off-flavors.    All  cream  containing  decaying  matter  or  sub- 
stances of  putrefaction  should  be  rejected. 

Under  certain  conditions  it  may  be  desirable  to  subdivide 
grade  II,  or  to  make  three  grades  instead  of  two.  Some  of  the 
cream  may  be  impregnated  with  a  very  intensive  flavor,  such  as 
intense  garlic,  yeasty  or  other  similar  flavor.  In  this  case  it  is 
recommended  to  place  in  grade  II  cream  with  slight  off-flavors 
only  and  into  grade  III  the  cream  with  the  highly  developed 
off-flavors,  always  providing,  however,  that  none  of  this  cream 
shows  signs  of  unfitness  for  food. 

SAMPLING  MILK  AND  CREAM. 

Purpose. — In  the  case  of  buying  milk  or  cream  for  butter- 
making,  the  only  just  and  business-like  basis  of  payment  is  pay- 
ment on  the  basis  of  the  pounds  of  butter  fat  received  and  this 
basis  has  been  adopted  by  the  creameries  throughout  this  country 
This  method  of  payment  necessitates  the  testing  of  the  milk  or 
cream  for  butter  fat  and  the  correctness  of  the  test  depends  in 
the  first  place  on  the  representativeness  of  the  sample.  It  is 
of  the  greatest  importance,  if  accurate  tests  are  to  be  made,  to 
secure  a  sample  from  the  milk  or  cream  of  each  patron's  delivery, 
or  shipment,  that  is  representative  of  the  milk  or  cream  from 
which  it  is  taken,  and  this  in  turn  is  controlled  very  largely 
by  the  thoroughness  of  the  preparation  of  the  milk  or  cream  be- 
fore sampling  and  by  the  method  used  for  sampling. 

Sampling  Milk. — The  milk  arrives  at  the  creamery  or  skim- 
ming station  almost  without  exception  in  the  farmer's  individual 
cans.  If  one  can  only  is  received  from  one  and  the  same  farmer 
the  sample  may  be  taken  direct  from  this  can  and  before  the 
milk  is  "dumped"  into  the  weigh  can.  In  this  case  the  thorough 
agitation  of  the  milk  with  a  stout  stirring  rod  is  usually  suf- 
ficient to  mix  it  so  that  a  representative  sample  can  be  taken. 
In  the  case  more  than  one  can  is  received  from  one  and  the  same 
farmer,  it  is  usually  most  convenient  to  pour  all  the  milk  into 
the  weigh  can,  and  take  the  sample  from  the  mixed  milk. 

There  are  three  principal  methods  of  taking  milk  samples, 
namely,  individual  samples  of  all  patrons,  that  are  tested  daily, 


126  SAMPLING  MILK  AND  CREAM 

composite  samples  that  are  tested  at  weekly,  bi-weekly  or 
monthly  intervals,  and  individual  samples  of  part  of  the  patronSj 
that  are  tested  daily. 

Single  Milk  Samples  for  Daily  Tests. — In  this  method  the 
milk  of  each  patron's  delivery  is  sampled  and  tested.  This  is 
the  most  accurate  and  reliable  method  of  sampling.  The  sample 
is  taken  either  into  a  glass  jar  from  which  later  the  correct 
amount  is  transferred  to  the  test  bottle,  or  the  sample  may  be 
pipetted  from  the  properly  mixed  milk  in  the  weigh  can  direct 
into  the  milk  test  bottle.  In  this  way  the  extra  work  of  handling 
sample  jars  and  of  preparing  the  milk  in  the  jar  for  the  test  is 
made  unnecessary,  and  all  danger  of  fat  separation  before  the 
sample  reaches  the  test  bottle  is  avoided.  This  is  obviously  a 
very  accurate  method  of  securing  tests,  but  it  involves  a  very 
large,  and  under  commercial  conditions  of  operation  an  almost 
prohibitive  amount  of  work.  On  account  of  this  objection  this 
method  is  not  in  general  use  and  has  been  very  largely 
abandoned. 

Another  practice  of  taking  single  samples  is  to  take  and  test 
samples  from  every  other  or  every  third  delivery  of  milk.  At 
the  end  of  the  month  or  other  period  of  payment,  these  individual 
tests  are  averaged  and  the  pounds  of  butter-fat  are  calculated 
by  multiplying  the  average  test  by  the  total  pounds  of  milk  re- 
ceived for  that  period.  This  practice  is  obviously  less  reliable 
than  where  single  samples  are  taken  and  tested  daily.  However, 
experimental  results  indicate  that  samples  taken  as  often  as  every 
third  day  give  results  which  compare  very  closely  with  those 
obtained  from  daily  samples,  as  shown  in  the  next  table,  illustrat- 
ing relative  accuracy  of  different  methods  of  sampling  milk, 

Composite  Samples  of  Milk. — The  purpose  of  taking  com- 
posite samples  is  to  reduce  the  labor  and  expense  of  testing.  The 
true  composite  sample  consists  of  aliquot  portions  of  milk  of 
several  deliveries  from  the  same  patron. 

Jars  for  Composite  Sampling. — Composite  sample  jars  must 
have  a  tight  seal  in  order  to  prevent  evaporation  of  moisture. 


SAMPLING  MILK  AND  CREAM 


127 


Pig-.  16.    Composite 

sample  jar 

Courtesy  Mojon- 

nier  Bros.  Co. 


Pint  jars  sealed  with  glass  stoppers,  rubber 
stoppers,  cork  stoppers,  metal  caps,  or  screw 
tops  may  be  used  for  this  purpose.  Bottles 
with  paper  caps  and  jelly  glasses  with  tin  lids 
do  not  furnish  tight  seals ;  they  should  not  be 
used  for  this  purpose. 

A  separate  jar  is  used  for  each  patron,  and 
each  jar  must  bear  the  respective  patron's 
number.  The  jars  should  be  thoroughly  clean 
and,  in  order  to  guard  against  errors,  they 
should  be  arranged  on  convenient  shelves  near 
the  weigh  can  in  numerical  order,  grouping  the 
jars  of  patrons  of  the  same  route  together. 
Taking  Composite  Samples  of  Milk. — Cor- 
rect composite  samples  may  be  obtained  by 
the  use  of  a  milk  thief  or  a  graduated  pipette. 
If  the  milk  thief  is  used,  it  is  inserted  into  the 
weigh  can  of  the  entire  delivery  of  one  patron. 
The  milk  in  the  tube  rises  to  the  level  of  the 
milk  in  the  weigh  can.  The  milk  thief  is  then  emptied  into  the 
sample  jar.  In  case  the  graduated  pipette  is  used,  a  certain 
quantity  of  milk  is  taken  for  every  pound  of  milk  delivered  by 
the  patron  (usually  about  .1  c.c.  for  every  pound  of  milk  de- 
livered). The  milk  thief  is  the  handier  instrument  of  the  two, 
but  where  the  amount  of  milk  delivered  by  different  patrons 
varies  considerably,  the  samples  of  milk  from  the  larger  milk 
producers  are  often  too  large  to  be  practical. 

Other  so-called  composite  samples  are  taken  by  using  the 
same  measure  for  all  milk  receipts.  In  this  case  a  small  dipper 
holding  about  one  ounce  is  generally  used.  With  this  dipper 
a  sample  of  milk  is  taken  daily  from  the  weigh  can  of  each 
patron's  milk  and  transferred  into  the  sample  jar.  This  method 
of  composite  sampling  is  not  mathematically  correct  and  the 
results  tend  to  be  less  reliable,  although  experimental  data  by 
Hunziker  show  that  the  results  average  practically  the  same  as 
when  aliquot  portions  are  taken. 

The  chief  objection  to  composite  samples  of  milk  is  that 
they  are  usually  held  too  long  before  testing.  This  causes  more 
or  less  complete  separation  of  the  butterfat,  in  the  form  of  a 


128  SAMPLING  MILK  AND  CREAM 

thick  and  tough  layer  of  cream  on  the  surface  of  the  milk.  This 
cream  mixes  with  difficulty  back  into  the  remainder  of  the  sample 
so  that  the  portion  transferred  to  the  bottle  is  often  not  rep- 
resentative of  the  true  richness  of  the  milk.  This  defect  is 
especially  pronounced  when  the  samples  are  not  protected 
against  high  temperature  (summer  heat). 

Composite  samples,  if  they  must  be  taken,  should  be  kept 
not  over  one  week  and  tested  at  the  end  of  this  period.  They 
should  be  kept  in  tightly  sealed  jars  and  in  the  cold. 

In  order  to  prevent  composite  samples  from  souring, 
fermenting  and  curdling  before  they  are  tested,  it  is  necessary 
to  add  a  small  amount  of  preservative  to  the  sample  jar  with 
the  first  portion  of  milk.  This  is  most  conveniently  done  in  the 
form  of  tablets  of  corrosive  sublimate  or  bichromate  of  potassium. 
One  tablet  during  the  winter  months  will  preserve  a  pint  sample 
for  at  least  two  weeks.  During  the  hot  weather  it  is  advisable 
to  add  two  tablets.  Liquid  preservatives,  such  as  formaldehyde, 
may  also  be  used  in  the  place  of  the  tablets,  but  they  cause  slight 
dilution  of  the  sample  and  are  not  considered  quite  as  con- 
venient as  the  tablets.  After  each  daily  addition  of  milk  to  the 
composite  sample  jar,  its  contents  should  be  gently  agitated  by 
giving  the  jar  a  rotary  motion  in  order  to  insure  a  complete 
mixture  of  the  preservative  with  the  entire  contents  of  the  jar. 
When  agitating,  care  should  be  taken  that  the  milk  does  not 
unnecessarily  slobber  up  along  the  side  of  the  jar,  so  as  to  prevent 
the  coating  of  the  side  with  cream  which  subsequently  dries  and 
is  difficult  to  mix  back  into  the  remainder  of  the  sample  at  the 
time  of  testing.  Composite  samples  should  be  tightly  sealed 
and  should  not  be  held  longer  than  one  week.  In  old  composite 
samples  the  cream  is  prone  to  be  so  completely  separated  from 
the  skim  milk  that  it  refuses  to  mix  back  readily  and  to  form 
a  homogeneous  emulsion  preparatory  to  testing. 

Individual  Samples  of  Part  of  the  Deliveries  only. — In  this 
method,  each  patron's  milk  is  not  sampled  daily  but  only  every 
third,  fourth  or  fifth  day.  The  patrons  are  divided  into  groups. 
Group  one  is  sampled  the  first  day,  group  two  the  second  day, 
etc.,  so  that  each  patron's  milk  may  be  sampled  say  eight  to 
ten  times  per  month.  The  tests  of  these  samples  are  averaged 


SAMPLING  MILK  AND  CRSAM 


129 


at  the  end  of  the  month  and  the  patron  is  paid  on  the  basis  of 
this  average  test.  When  this  is  done  the  time  saved  in  sampling 
permits  the  pipetting  of  the  sample  direct  into  the  test  bottle. 

At  first  glance  and  from  the  theoretical  point  of  view  this 
method  appears  crude  and  lacking  in  accuracy.  However,  an 
extensive  series  of  comparative  tests  conducted  by  the  writer 
in  co-operation  with  the  Indiana  Condensed  Milk  Company  at 
Sheridan,  Indiana,  in  which  over  5,000  samples  were  tested, 
demonstrated  very  conclusively  that  the  results  of  this  inter- 
mittent sampling  approached  the  average  of  tests  of  daily 
samples  closer  than  did  the  results  of  composite  samples,  as 
shown  in  the  following  table: 


Table  22.— Comparative  Accuracy  of  Different  Methods  of 
Sampling  Milk.1 


Method  of  Sampling 

Aver- 
age 
Test 

Percent 
Fat 

Average  of  Act- 
ual     Pounds 
Fat,  as  Deter- 
mined by  Act- 
ual    Pounds 
Milk  Delivered 
by   Each    Pa- 
tron   and    by 
Average     Fat 
Test   of    Each 
Patron. 

Pounds  Fat 

Aver- 
age 
Varia- 
tion 
from 
Check 
Figures 

Pounds 
Fat 

Single  samples,  daily   (check  figures)... 
Single  samples,   every  second   day  

4.95 
4.99 

31.94 

3204 

4-.  10 

Single  samples,  every  third  day  

4.98 

31.98 

+.04 

Single  samples,  every  fourth  day  

4.98 

3197 

+.03 

Single  samples    every  fifth  day 

498 

31  90 

—  04 

Composite  samples,  aliquot  portions.... 
Composite  samples,  eaual  oortions.. 

4.85 
4.90 

31.72 
31.75 

—.22 
—.19 

1  Hunziker.  Experiments  conducted  at  factory  of  Indiana  Condensed 
Milk  Co.,  Sheridan,  Ind.,  November,  1913.  Single  samples,  composite  samples 
(aliquot  portions)  and  composite  samples  (equal  portions)  were  taken  from 
each  of  300  patrons  daily  for  a  period  of  14  days.  The  single  samples  were 
tested  daily  and  the  composite  samples  at  the  end  of  the  14  day  period. 
The  figures  in  column  "Average  Test,"  first  column,  represent  the  average 
of  all  tests  of  the  samples  of  each  patron  for  each  method  of  sampling. 
There  were  4,800  (300x14)  single  sample  tests,  300  composite  sample  (aliquot 
portion)  tests  and  300  composite  sample  (equal  portion)  tests.  The  average 
pounds  of  fat  (second  column)  were  determined  by  multiplying  each  single 
and  composite  sample  test  by  the  respective  pounds  of  milk  these  samples 
represented,  dividing  the  product  by  the  number  of  samples  tested.  The 
"Average  Variation  from  Check  Figures"  (third  column)  was  determined  by 
deducting  the  average  pounds  of  fat  of  each  method  of  sampling  from  the 
average  pounds  of  fat  of  all  single  samples,  the  average  of  the  single  daily 
tests  being  accepted  as  standard  and  used  as  check  figures. 


130  SAMPLING  MILK  AND  CREAM 

The  reason  why  sampling  every  second,  third,  fourth  or  fifth 
day,  gave  more  accurate  results  than  composite  sampling"  must 
be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  in  the  intermittent  sampling  the 
sample  was  transferred  from  the  weigh  can  direct  into  the  test 
bottle.  The  portion  used  for  testing,  therefore,  was  bound  to  be 
representative  of  the  milk  from  which  it  was  taken,  there  could 
be  no  question  of  inaccuracy  due  to  separation  of  fat.  In  the 
composite  samples,  on  the  other  hand,  the  cream  was  separated 
out  and  in  spite  of  the  most  painstaking  efforts  to  thoroughly  mix 
the  cream  back  into  the  remainder  of  the  composite  sample,  the 
portion  transferred  to  the  test  bottle  was  of  more  or  less  un- 
certain composition.  This  was  the  case  with  and  without  heating 
the  sample  before  the  transfer  was  made.  This  investigation 
was  made  in  the  month  of  November  under  most  favorable  con- 
ditions for  preserving  composite  samples.  Had  it  been  made 
in  the  month  of  June,  at  a  time  when  most  of  the  cows  are  fresh 
in  milk  and  the  milk  contains  predominatingly  large  fat  globules 
and  when  the  temperature  on  the  receiving  platform  where  the 
samples  usually  are  kept  is  very  high,  the  separation  of  cream 
in  the  sample  jar  would  have  been  even  more  complete,  the 
layer  of  cream  would  have  been  drier  and  tougher  and  less 
miscible  and  the  results  of  the  tests  of  the  composite  samples 
would  probably  have  been  still  more  unfavorable. 

Sampling  of  Cream. — Correct  sampling  of  cream  is  vastly 
more  difficult  than  correct  sampling  of  milk.  This  is  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  cream  usually  is  older  and  often  lumpy 
and  mixes  into  a  homogeneous  consistency  with  difficulty  only. 
It  is  also  due  to  its  richness  in  butterfat.  Average  cream  con- 
tains approximately  10  times  as  much  fat  as  milk.  The  possible 
error  caused  by  lack  of  uniformity  in  consistency,  therefore,  is 
greatly  augmented. 

Composite  samples  of  cream  representing  portions  of  succes- 
sive shipments  or  deliveries  from  the  same  patrons  are  practically 
out  of  the  question  and  cannot  be  too  strongly  condemned.  It  is 
difficult  to  take  small  aliquot  portions  of  cream  and  the  tendency 
of  cream  samples  to  lose  part  of  their  moisture  by  evaporation, 
upon  remaining  for  several  days  on  the  shelves  of  the  warm  re- 
ceiving room,  causes  such  samples  to  yield  excessively  high  and 


SAMPLING  MILK  AND  CREAM  131 

misleading  tests.1  Then  again,  the  established  practice  among 
the  majority  of  creameries  to  pay  the  farmer  for  each  individual 
shipment  of  cream  precludes  the  practicability  of  holding  the 
samples  and  makes  necessary  prompt  testing  of  the  daily 
samples. 

In  the  case  of  direct  deliveries  or  shipments  of  cream  by 
the  farmer  to  the  creamery  or  cream  station,  it  is  customary 
to  stir  the  cream  with  a  stout  stirring  rod  previous  to  sampling. 
Pouring  the  cream  from  one  can  to  another  will  also  insure  thor- 
ough mixing  and  should  be  resorted  to  especially  when  the  can 
is  too  full  to  be  stirred  without  danger  of  spilling.  Under  all 
ordinary  conditions,  however,  stirring  is  more  practical  and  con- 
sumes less  time  than  pouring.  After  the  cream  is  properly 
mixed,  a  small  sample  is  taken  by  transferring  the  cream  with 
a  small  cone-shaped  or  cup-shaped  dipper  into  a  small  sample 
tube  or  jar,  which  is  immediately  tightly  sealed.  It  is  customary 
to  place  the  dipper  into  a  can  containing  hot  water  after  each 
dip,  so  as  to  rinse  it  and  facilitate  the  sliding  of  the  thick  cream 
of  the  next  can  into  the  sample  jar.  The  use  of  a  cold  dipper 
would  cause  the  cream  to  stick  to  it  and  thus  delay  the  work 
of  sampling.  These  cream  sample  dippers  should  have  a  small 
hole  in  their  bottom  in  order  to  facilitate  rapid  and  complete 
escape  of  water  when  the  dipper  is  removed  from  the  hot  water 
and  before  it  is  dipped  into  the  cream.  The  sampling  is  best 
done  while  the  cans  are  still  on  the  floor  and  before  they  are 
placed  on  the  scales,  as  the  stirring  jars  the  scales  and  shortens 
their  life. 

In  the  case  of  the  route  system,  as  usually  practiced, 
the  sampling  has  to  be  done  on  the  route  wagon  by 
the  hauler.  At  best  the  sampling  of  the  farmer's  cream  on 
the  route,  under  diverse  and  often  very  unfavorable  weather 
conditions  is  an  exacting  problem  that  requires  adequate,  prac- 
tical equipment  for  reliable  work.  This  equipment  should  con- 
sist of  a  well-made  spring  scale,  capacity  60  pounds,  for  weigh- 
ing the  cream;  a  weigh  pail  in  which  each  farmer's  cream  is 
weighed  separately,  a  properly  constructed  combined  stirrer  and 
sampler,  consisting  of  a  heavy  iron  rod  which  terminates  at  its 

i  Hunziker,  Mills  and  Spitzer.     Testing  Cream  for  Butterfat.     Purdue  Bui- 
letin  No.  145,  1910, 


132  SAMPLING  MILK  AND  CREAM 

bottom  in  a  securely  attached  sample  disc;  a  rubber  scraper  for 
scraping  the  remnants  of  cream  from  the  sides  and  bottom  of 
the  farmer's  pail  or  can  and  from  the  weigh  pail  after  each 
weighing;  a  set  of  properly  numbered  sample  bottles  with  tight 
stoppers  or  screw-top  lids  and  arranged  in  a  rack  or  box  in 
numerical  order;  two  sets  of  cans,  preferably  10  gallon  cans,  for 
first-grade  and  second-grade  cream,  respectively,  into  which  to 
empty  the  weigh  pail — each  set  of  these  cans  should  be  plainly 
marked  with  the  grade  of  cream  for  which  it  is  intended ; — and  a 
cream  report  book  or  pad.  The  cream  should  be  thoroughly  stirred, 
then  poured  into  the  weigh  pail,  weighed  and  sampled.  The  scales 
should  not  be  held  up  by  hand,  but  should  be  suspended  from  a 
stationary  hook,  preferably  attached  to  the  rear  of  the  wagon. 
Each  sample  bottle,  after  filling,  should  be  sealed  tightly  and 
returned  to  its  proper  place  in  the  sample  box.  In  case  the 
weigh  pail  does  not  hold  all  the  cream  of  one  and  the  same  patron, 
a  separate  sample  should  be  taken  from  each  weighing  and  the 
corresponding  weights  recorded.  The  use  of  a  covered  wagon  or 
truck  protects  the  cream  against  excessive  heat  in  summer  and 
cold  in  winter. 

Creameries  that  operate  routes  or  cream  stations  should  see 
to  it  that  their  haulers  and  station  agents  who  do  the  sampling 
are  honest  and  conscientious,  have  the  necessary  knowledge  to 
do  their  work  right  and  are  supplied  with  an  adequate  equipment 
for  sampling  and  weighing.  Men  of  questionable  character  and 
men  of  careless  habits  never  make  reliable  agents  for  securing 
cream  samples. 

In  all  cases  of  sampling,  whether  this  work  be  done  at  the 
creamery,  at  the  cream  station,  or  on  the  route,  the  greatest 
care  should  be  taken  that  the  cream  is  mixed  very  thoroughly 
before  sampling.  This  requires  a  stirrer  with  a  good  sized  disc 
and  a  stout  rod  not  less  than  three  feet  long  and  with  a  hand 
hold  of  adequate  size.  The  stirring  must  be  done  thoroughly, 
simply  giving  the  cream  a  few  dips  with  the  sample  dipper  is 
not  sufficient.  The  stirrer  must  be  worked  to  the  bottom  of  the 
can  several  times  and  the  entire  contents  of  the  can  must  be 
thoroughly  agitated.  Thick,  lumpy  or  icy  cream  should  be 
warmed  until  it  pours  readily  and  can  be  mixed  properly. 


SAMPUNG  MII.K  AND  CREAM  133 

Churned  cream  cannot  be  sampled.  Its  fat  content  may  be 
calculated  by  testing  the  buttermilk  and  estimating  the  amount 
of  butter. 

In  order  to  guard  against  serious  shortages  of  butterfat 
and  to  protect  the  creamery  against  paying  for  butterfat 
which  it  never  received,  all  cream  route  cream  and  all  cream 
station  cream  must  be  sampled  and  tested  again  at  the  cream- 
ery. A  composite  sample  must  therefore  be  taken  at  the 
creamery  from  the  cream  of  the  delivery  of  each  route  and  of 
each  station.  This  may  be  done  by  taking,  with  a  cream  thief 
or  dipper,  a  small  portion  of  cream  of  each  can  of  the  same 
route  or  the  same  station  into  a  pint  glass  jar,  bearing  the 
number  of  the  respective  route  or  station.  Or  all  the  cans 
from  the  sam,e  route  or  station  may  first  be  emptied  into  the 
weigh  can  or  vat  and  a  sample  taken  from  the  mixed  cream 
after  it  is  thoroughly  stirred.  The  former  method  has  been 
found  by  experience  to  yield  more  accurate  samples  because 
of  the  difficulty  of  thorough  mixing  of  different  lots  of  cream 
of  varying  richness. 

These  composite  samples  should  be  tested  as  promptly  as 
possible  and  the  pounds  of  butterfat  calculated.  If  the  amount 
of  butterfat  determined  from  the  composite  samples  does  not 
agree  with  the  amount  of  butterfat  of  the  route  or  station 
men's  individual  samples  of  the  farmers'  cream,  the  hauler  or 
station  man  should  be  promptly  notified  of  the  delinquency, 
in  an  effort  to  avoid  recurrence  of  similar  shortages  in  future 
shipments. 

Sampling  Frozen  Cream. — The  sampling  of  cream  that  ar- 
rives at  the  creamery  in  partly  or  wholly  frozen  condition  as 
is  the  case  with  a  good  deal  of  the  cream  during  severe  winter 
weather,  is  a  problem  which  frequently  causes  much  difficulty. 
When  freezing,  the  watery  portions  of  the  cream  usually  freeze 
first.  In  the  case  of  partly  frozen  cream,  therefore,  the  frozen 
portion  is  poorer  in  butterfat  than  the  remaining  liquid.  When 
this  cream  is  sampled  without  thawing  up  the  icy  portions, 
the  sample  is  prone  to  largely  contain  the  liquid  part  of  the 
cream.  This  inavoidably  causes  the  tests  of  such  samples  to 
show  a  higher  per  cent  of  butterfat  than  the  mixed  cream 


134  SAMPLING  MILK  AND  CREAM 

from  which  it  is  taken.  This  in  turn  results  in  a  low  overrun 
and  loss  to  the  creamery.  Cans  in  which  the  cream  is  com- 
pletely frozen  cannot  be  sampled  at  all  without  first  thawing 
the  cream. 

In  order  to  reduce  the  frozen  cream  to  a  liquid  condition 
most  creameries  use  a  wooden,  concrete  or  iron'  tank  partly 
filled  with  warm  water,  into  which  they  set  the  cans  of  frozen 
cream  until  the  cream  is  melted.  The  operators  are  usually 
instructed  to  hold  the  temperature  of  the  water  at  110  to  130 
degrees  F.  In  order  to  hasten  the  work  and  to  avoid  delay 
there  is  always  a  strong  temptation  on  the  part  of  the  operator 
to  use  too  hot  water  or  to  pull  the  cans  out  of  the  thawing  tank 
before  all  the  cream  is  melted.  Both  of  these  practices  are 
objectionable,  because  they  are  prone  to  yield  incorrect  sam- 
ples and  they  tend  to  injure  the  body  of  the  resulting  butter. 

If  too  hot  water  is  used,  at  least  a  part  of  the  cream  is 
bound  to  be  heated  much  above  the  melting  point  of  the  but- 
terfat.  This  causes  the  fat  to  "oil  off"  and  run  together.  When 
this  cream  is  subsequently  cooled,  preparatory  to  churning,  this 
"oiled-off"  fat  granulates  and  gives  the  butter  a  disagreeable, 
mealy  texture.  In  this  "oiled-off"  condition  the  cream  is  also 
very  difficult  to  sample  because,  in  spite  of  most  thorough  stir- 
ring, the  butter  oil  will  rise  to  the  top  before  the  operation 
of  sampling  is  finished  and  the  sample  is  very  apt  to  contain 
a  higher  per  cent  of  fat  than  the  mixed  cream  from  which  it  is 
taken. 

If  the  cans  are  pulled  out  of  the  hot  water  tank  before  all 
the  cream  is  properly  melted,  much  vigorous  stirring  is  neces- 
sary in  order  to  reduce  it  to  a  homogeneous  condition.  In  the 
case  of  sour  cream  this  stirring  of  the  partly  melted  cream  is 
often  sufficient  to  cause  the  butter  to  break,  when  proper  sam- 
pling becomes  impossible  and  the  remelting  of  this  churned 
cream  in  the  forewarmer  or  pasteurizer  again  gives  rise  to  but- 
ter with  a  mealy  texture. 

The  only  reliable  way  of  avoiding  these  difficulties  is  to 
not  heat  the  water  to  high  enough  a  temperature  to  cause  the 
butterfat  to  melt  and  "oil-off"  and  to  leave  the  cans  in  the  water 
long  enough  to  insure  complete  solution  of  the  cream.  This 
is  best  done  by  heating  the  water  in  the  tank  to  95  degrees  F. 


SAMPUNG  MILK  AND  CREAM  135 

only  and,  in  order  to  hasten  the  melting  of  the  cream,  to  keep 
a  stream  of  water  at  95  degrees  F.  flowing  through  the  tank 
constantly.  In  this  way  the  cream  melts  in  a  natural  manner 
and  without  "oiling-off"  and  the  continuous  removal  of  the 
cooled  water  surrounding  the  cans  by  the  circulation  of  the 
water  greatly  speeds  the  work.  Cream  so  treated  is  in  ideal 
condition  for  sampling  and  there  is  no  danger  of  its  producing 
a  mealy-bodied  butter. 

Amount  of  Cream  for  the  Sample. — It  is  the  general  prac- 
tice among  the  creameries  to  make  one  test  only  of  each 
sample.  It  is  often  desirable,  however,  to  retest  a  sample  in 
order  to  prove  the  accuracy  of  the  first  test,  especially  when 
there  is  an  abnormal  variation  in  the  tests  of  successive  deliv- 
eries or  shipments  of  cream  from  the  same  patron.  Frequently 
test  bottles  break  in  the  tester  and  a  second  test  is  necessary 
to  determine  the  per  cent  of  fat  of  the  cream  which  the  broken 
bottle  represents.  For  these  reasons  it  is  advisable  to  take  a 
sample  large  enough  for  two  tests.  Since  about  15  to  20  c.  c. 
of  cream,  are  sufficient  to  make  one  test,  the  cream  sample 
should  contain  about  30  to  40  c.  c.  of  cream,  or  about  one  and 
one-half  ounces. 

Larger  samples  than  this  are  not  only  unnecessary,  but  may 
cause  considerable  waste  of  cream.  This  latter  objection  holds 
true  only  where  preservatives  are  used  as  is  especially  the  case 
w'ith  composite  samples.  When  single  samples  only  are  taken 
and  these  samples  are  tested  on  the  day  received  or  shortly 
afterward,  the  use  of  preservatives  is  unnecessary  and  the  un- 
used portion  of  the  sample  may  be  returned  to  the  cream  vat 
or  forewarmer  to  avoid  loss. 

Care  of  Cream  Samples.— In  the  larger  creameries,  espe- 
cially those  operating  the  cream  station  system  or  the  indi- 
'  vidual-shipper  system,  the  farmer's  checks  are  made  out  daily 
for  each  individual  delivery  or  shipment.  In  these  creameries, 
or  their  stations,  the  samples  are  tested  as  soon  as  they  are 
available  and  their  care  requires,  therefore,  no  special  attention. 
In  a  good  many  of  the  smaller  creameries,  however,  the  sam- 
ples are  not  tested  on  the  day  they  are  taken  or  received,  and 
they  are  often  several  days  old  before  they  are  tested.  Few 


136 


SAMPLING  MILK  AND  CREAM 


operators  realize  that,  while  these  samples  are  waiting  for  the 
tester,  they  are  subject  to  rapid  deterioration  and  to  changes 
in  composition  due  to  evaporation  of  moisture,  which  has  a 
disturbing  influence  upon  the  accuracy  of  the  test.  In  many 
creameries  the  samples  are  allowed  to  remain  on  the  shelves 
of  the  receiving  platform  without  protection  from  heat  and 
exposure  to  air.  Careful  observations  have  shown  that  there 
is  a  strong  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  cream  samples,  kept  un- 
der these  conditions,  to  increase  in  per  cent  of  fat  with  age. 
This  is  due  to  the  escape  of  moisture  from  the  cream  by  evap- 
oration. The  rapidity  with  which  this  evaporation  takes  place 
depends  on  the  tightness  or  looseness  of  the  seal  of  the  sample 
bottles  and  on  the  temperature  of  the  place  where  they  are 
stored.  This  fact  was  demonstrated  in  a  brief  experiment  con- 
ducted by  the  writer,  in  which  the  daily  shipments  of  cream 
from  six  patrons  were  sampled  for  single  tests  and  for  com- 
posite tests.  Each  patron's  sample  was  divided  among  nine 
bottles,  three  of  which  were  tightly  sealed,  three  loosely  sealed 
and  three  were  left  open.'  One  set  of  these  bottles  from  each 
patron  was  placed  in  the  ice  box  at  a  temperature  of  50  de- 
grees F.,  one  set  was  left  on  the  receiving  platform  and  one  set 
was  placed  near  the  boiler  at  a  temperature  of  90  to  110  de- 
grees F.  The  results  are  shown  in  the  following  table : 

Table  23.— Per  Cent  Fat  of  Cream  Samples  Kept  in  Bottles  Sealed 
Tightly,  Loosely  and  Left  Open,  at  Different  Temperatures. 


Pa- 
trons 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

Fat   Tests   of   Single   Samples, 
July  13  to  27 

Fat  Tests  of  Composite  Samples  Held 
Two  Weeks 

July 

Aver- 
age 

In 
Ice  Box 

On  Receiving 
Platform 

Near 
Boiler 

13 

55. 
41. 
28. 
40. 
35. 
48. 

15 

51. 

38. 

37. 
33. 

48. 

17 

53. 
39. 

27. 
38. 
35. 
48. 

20 

52. 
39. 
29. 
40. 
33. 
48. 

22 

51. 
35. 

38. 
33. 
47. 

24 

51. 
35. 
25. 
39. 
32. 
47. 

27 

52. 
39. 
30. 
37. 
33. 
49. 

41 

1 

1 

4* 

JA 

P 

i 

o 

2 

I 
0 

i 

bC 

H 

1 

1 
O 

70. 
69. 
68. 
65. 
70. 
71. 

52.1 
38. 
27.8 
38.3 
33.4 
47.8 

51. 
39.5 
27.5 
37.5 
33. 
48.' 

54. 
40. 

28.5 
38.5 
34. 

48. 

56. 
42. 
30. 
41. 
37. 
51. 

57.5 
44. 
34. 
38.5 
34. 
40. 

59. 
45. 
35. 
39. 
37.5 
48. 

65. 
50. 
37. 
48. 
42. 
59. 

58. 
51. 
31. 
41. 
36. 
49. 

58. 
59.5 
34. 
41. 
37. 
48. 

Average    -    -    - 

39.5 

39.5 

40.5 

43. 

43. 

44. 

50. 

44.5 

46.5 

69. 

WEIGHING  MII,K  AND  CREAM  137 

The  figures  in  table  23  demonstrate  the  importance  of  keep- 
ing cream  samples  that  are  not  promptly  tested,  in  tightly  sealed 
jars  and  at  a  low  temperature.  They  further  emphasize  that 
creameries  keeping  their  cream  samples  in  loosely  sealed  bottles 
on  the  receiving  platform  may  pay  their  patrons  during  the 
hot  summer  months  for  thousands  of  pounds  of  butterfat  they 
never  received  because  of  the  increase  in  the  per  cent  of  fat  in 
such  samples  with  age,  due  to  evaporation  of  moisture. 

Weighing  Milk  and  Cream. — In  the  case  of  milk  the  cans 
belonging  to  one  and  the  same  patron  are  usually  emptied 
into  the  weigh  can  and  the  weights  are  recorded  on  the  milk 
sheet  located  in  a  convenient  place  on  the  receiving  platform. 
Where  milk  is  received  exclusively  or  nearly  so,  the  patrons 
are  generally  paid  weekly,  bi-weekly  or  monthly  and  it  is  con- 
venient to  have  the  milk  sheet  provide  for  a  sufficient  number 
of  days  to  enable  the  operator  to  enter  all  the  daily  receipts 
that  constitute  the  period  for  which  the  pay  check  is  made 
out.  The  days  of  the  months  are  usually  placed  on  the  horizon- 
tal line  on  top  and  the  patrons'  names  or  nifmbers  in  the  first 
vertical  column  at  the  left  of  the  sheet. 

Where  cream  is  received  the  same  method  may  be  used  for 
the  individual  deliveries  and  shipments,  and  the  route  and  sta- 
tion totals  are  entered  in  the  columns  reserved  for  those 
routes  and  stations. 

In  large  creameries  and  where  the  individual  cream  receipts 
are  paid  for  daily,  the  milk  and  cream  sheet  obviously  does  not 
serve  the  purpose.  In  these  cases  the  cream  is  usually  weighed 
in  the  cans  and  before  it  is  emptied.  The  tare  weight  indicated 
on  the  shoulder  of  the  can  and  the  gross  weight  are  recorded 
on  the  tag  of  the  can  or  on  a  cream  record  blank,  which  later 
goes  to  the  office. 

Station  and  route  cream  may  be  poured  into  the  weigh  can 
thus  weighing  all  the  cream  coming  from  one  and  the  same 
route  or  station  together,  or  each  can  is  set  on  the  scales  and 
weighed  separately.  This  cream  has  already  been  weighed  in 
the  weigh  pail  on  the  route  or  in  the  farmer's  individual  can 
at  the  cream  station.  The  creamery  weights  of  the  total  of 
each  route  delivery  or  cream  station  shipment  should  corre- 


138 


WEIGHING  MILK  AND  CREAM 


spend  with  the  total  of  the  weights  of  the  individual  farmer's 
deliveries  as  recorded  on  the  cream  sheet  of  the  respective 
route  man  or  cream  station  operator. 

In  order  to  insure  correct  weights  the  platform  scales  at  the 
creamery  and  cream  station  and  the  spring  scales  on  the  route 

wagon  must  be  in  good  operat- 
ing condition.  They  should 
be  regularly  examined  at  the 
beginning  of  each  day.  They 
should  be  set  level,  properly 
balanced,  swing  freely  and  in- 
dicate the  weight  correctly. 
Scales  that  "stick"  or  that  are 
otherwise  not  in  satisfactory 
operating  condition  should  not 
be  used.  They  should  be  re- 
paired or  replaced  with  new 
scales  at  once.  Platform  scales 
should  be  protected  against  un- 
due jars  and  they  should  be 
thoroughly  cleaned  and  freed 
from  all  remnants  of  milk  and 
cream  at  the  conclusion  of  each 
day's  work.  On  the  care  of  the 
scales  will  largely  depend  their 
accuracy  and  their  duration  of 
usefulness. 


Tig.  17.      Platform    scales    for    milk 
and  cream 

Courtesy   Fairbanks,    Morse   &    Co. 


"Dumping"  Milk  and  Cream. — As  previously  stated  the 
milk  cans  are  most  conveniently  emptied  into  the  weigh  can  and 
after  weighing  the  milk  passes  into  the  receiving  vat  and  is 
heated  preparatory  to  separation  in  accordance  with  directions 
given  in  Chapter  V  on  the  Separation  of  Milk.  All  mjilk 
should  be  strained  through  a  wire  mesh  strainer,  80  to  100  meshes 
to  the  inch.  This  is  best  done  by  installing  the  strainer  over  the 
top  of  the  weigh  can.  The  strainer  should  be  rinsed  out  fre- 
quently during  the  day's  work  and  should  receive  a  special 
scrubbing  with  a  brush  and  hot  water,  and  should  be  steamed, 


"DUMPING"  MILK  AND  CREAM  139 

at  the  end  of  the  day.  The  use  of  a  drip  rack  for  reclaiming 
remnants  of  milk  in  the  cans  will  assist  in  avoiding  unneces- 
sary losses  on  the  platform. 

The  cream,  after  it  is  weighed,  is  usually  emptied  into  the 
forewarmer,  which  consists  of  a  low  vat  equipped  with  a 
revolving  coil  for  warming  the  cream.  It  is  desirable 
to  forewarm  all  cream  so  as  to  reduce  it  to  a  homogeneous 
condition  and  make  pasteurization  more  even  and  more  effect- 
ive. In  the  forewarmer  the  cream  is  heated  to  about  90  de- 
grees F.  If  higher  temperatures  are  used  care  should  be  taken 
that  the  cream  is  constantly  agitated  by  keeping  the  coil  revolv- 
ing, in  order  to  guard  against  "oiling-off"  of  the  butterfat  and 
consequently  a  mealy-bodied  butter. 

The  forewarmer  should  be  equipped  with  a  coarse  but 
substantial  strainer,  about  four  meshes  to  the  inch,  through 
which  all  the  cream  is  strained  into  the  forewarmer. 

Inasmuch  as  much  of  the  cream  arrives  at  the  creamery  in 
very  thick  condition,  special  attention  must  be  given  the  rinsing 
of  the  cans  in  order  to  prevent  heavy  loss  of  butter  fat.  After 
the  can  is  emptied  it  is  best  inverted  over  a  steam  jet  with  an 
opening  about  f  inches  in  diameter  where  steam  is  blown  into 
the  can  until  all  the  cream  has  run  out.  A  series  of  two  to 
three  such  steam  jets  will  allow  one  can  to  be  steamed  while  the 
previous  one  is  taken  off  and  the  succeeding  one  is  put  on,  thus 
avoiding  delay,  and  increasing  the  speed  of  the  work  of  "dump- 
ing". If  this  steam  jet  arrangement  is  installed  on  top  of  the 
forewarmer,  the  remnants  of  cream  run  automatically  into  the 
forewarmer  and  no  special  receptacle  is  needed  to  catch  and  re- 
claim this  cream.  Where  a  mechanical  can  washer  is  used  it 
may  be  convenient  to  make  this  cream-reclaiming  arrangement 
a  part  of  the  can  washer. 

Instead  of  blowing  the  remnants  of  cream  out  of  the  cans 
with  steam,  some  factories  rinse  the  cans  with  hot  water,  pour- 
ing about  one  half  can  full  of  hot  water  from  one  can  to  the 
next  one  and  finally  dumping  this  milky  rinse  water  into  the 
forewarmer.  This  method  appears  somewhat  more  crude, 
more  sloppy  and  has  the  additional  disadvantage  of  diluting  the 


140 


CAN  WASHING 


cream    with    considerable    water,    which    is    undesirable,    often 
contributing  to  the  development  of  costly  butter  defects. 

In  the  case  of  very  thick  and  cold  cream,  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  dip  the  cans  into  a  hot  water  bath  and  then  invert  them 
over  the  forewarmer  again  to  facilitate  the  removal  of  the  rem- 
nants of  cream.  This  water  bath  is  best  provided  in  the  form 
of  a  rectangular  tank,  24  inches  long,  18  inches  wide  and 
18  inches  deep.  This  dipping  of  the  cans 
in  water  is  somewhat  objectionable  because 
the  water  adhering  to  the  outside  of  the 
cans  runs  into  the  cream  in  the  fore- 
warmer  upon  subsequent  "dumping"  and. 
since  the  cans  are  often  unclean  on  the  out- 
side, this  water  also  is  far  from  being  free 
from  impurities  and  tends  to  pollute  the 
cream.  Where  the  remnants  of  cream  are 
blown  out  of  the  cans  with  steam,  the  dipping 
of  the  cans  in  hot  water  is  largely  unneces- 
sary and  may,  under  most  conditions,  be 
omitted. 

Washing  of  Milk  and  Cream  Cans. — One 
of  the  essential  factors  in  the  creamery's  suc- 
cessful efforts  to  improve  and  uphold  the 
quality  of  its  supply  of  milk  and  cream  con- 
stitutes the  returning  to  the  farmer  of  cans 
that  are  clean,  dry  and  smell  sweet.  It  is 
inconsistent  to  urge  the  producer  to  observe 


Pig-.  18.     Can  steamer 
f< 


'or  reclaiming  rem- 
nants of  cream  . 

Courtesy  J.  G.  Cherry  scrupulous  precautions  of  cleanliness  and 
sanitation  in  the  production  and  handling  of 
his  milk  and  cream,  and  then  furnish  him  with  cans  that  are 
not  clean  and  that  contain  foul  odors.  Even  milk  or  cream  that 
is  sweet  and  free  from  objectionable  flavors  and  odors,  when 
poured,  stored  and  shipped  in  unclean  cans,  will  be  of  inferior 
quality  by  the  time  it  reaches  the  creamery  or  cream  station. 
And  the  psychological  effect  on  the  producer  who,  upon  open- 
ing the  can,  detects  bad  odors  and  lack  of  cleanliness,  is  dis- 
advantageous to  the  cause  of  good  milk  or  cream.  A  clean 
and  sweet-smelling  can  furnishes  an  incentive  to  the  production 
of  cream;  of  good  quality.  An  unclean  can  with  objectionable 


CAN  WASHING  141 

odors  discourages  the  farmer  from  making  the  necessary  effort 
to  produce  good  cream  because  he  realizes  that  if  it  is  exposed 
to  the  contaminating  influences  of  such  a  can,  the  cream  will  soon 
deteriorate  anyway,  regardless  of  the  care  he  has  exercised  in 
its  production.  The  proper  cleaning  of  the  cans  at  the  factory 
should,  therefore,  receive  most  careful  attention. 

Can  Washing  Equipment. — Great  efforts  have  been  made 
within  recent  years  by  creameries  and  manufacturers  of  cream- 
ery machinery  to  devise  and  construct  machines  that  could  be 
depended  upon  to  cleanse,  sterilize  and  dry  the  cans.  While 
there  is  still  room  for  much  progress  on  this  point,  much  im- 
provement in  the  available  can  washing  equipment  has  resulted 
from  these  efforts. 

Washing  cans  by  hand  is  a  laborious  and  time-consuming 
work,  distasteful  to  the  great  majority  of  creamery  employees. 
On  account  of  its  disagreeable  features  it  is  difficult  to  secure 
men  who  are  dependable  to  do  this  work  properly  and  who  do 
not  yield  to  the  temptation  of  slighting  it  when  rushed  and  in 
the  absence  of  close  supervision. 

The  earlier  attempts  at  machine  washing  consisted  of  the 
use  of  mechanical  brushes  revolving  in  a  can  wash  trough.  The 
cans  were  slipped  over  these  brushes,  the  brushes  by  the  opera- 
tion of  a  lever,  were  then  expanded  to  touch  the  inside  and  out- 
side of  the  cans,  cleaning  it  while  revolving.  Later  steam  and 
hot  air  jets  were  attached  to  the  end  of  these  washers  for  the 
purpose  of  sterilizing  and  drying  the  washed  cans. 

The  latest  designs  of  can-washing  machines  consist  of  so- 
called  hydraulic  can  washers,  in  which  the  cans  automatically 
pass  in  an  inclosed  chamber  over  a  series  of  jets  which  rinse, 
wash,  steam  and  dry  the  cans.  These  washing  machines  are 
made  in  varying  sizes  taking  care  of  100  to  300  cans  per  hour. 
Some  are  of  circular  type  while  others  are  straight-away.  The 
circular  washers  have  the  advantage  of  economizing  space  and 
of  making  it  possible  for  the  same  person  who  places  the  un- 
washed cans  into  the  machine  to  also  remove  the  washed  cans 
from  the  machine.  In  plants  where  it  is  desirable  to  discharge 
the  clean  cans  as  far  away  as  possible  from  the  intake  of  the 
unwashed  cans,  in  order  to  clear  the  floor,  the  straight-away 
machines  are  more  serviceable. 


142 


CAN  WASHING 


These  hydraulic  can  wash- 
ers promise  to  play  an  impor- 
tant and  useful  part  in  the 
efficiency  of  can  washing  and 
the  improvement  of  the  qual- 
ity of  the  cream  in  the  future. 
Already  a  great  number  of 
these  machines  are  in  opera- 
tion in  milk  plants  and  cream- 
eries throughout  the  country. 
While  their  high  initial  cost, 
their  large  size,  their  noise 
and  heat  radiation  are  obsta- 
cles which  limit  their  use  to 
the  larger  factories  and  make  them  as  yet  unsuitable  for  small 
creameries,  these  disadvantages  may  gradually  be  overcome  and 
are  even  now  offset  in  part  at  least  by  their  greater  speed  and 
relative  efficiency,  their  greater  economy  in  the  use  of  alkali 


Pig1.  19.    Can  steamer  and  drier 
Courtesy  Jensen-Cry  Mach.  Co. 


Pig-.  19A.    Progress  circular  can  washer 
Courtesy  Davis-Watkins  Dairymen's  Mfg.   Co. 

solution,  and  the  fact  that  the  cans  require  less  frequent  paint- 
ing than  when  washed  by  hand.  While  their  work  of  cleans- 
ing, sterilizing  and  drying  the  cans  may  fall  short  of  the  work 
of  the  most  expert  washing  by  hand,  the  machines  yield  uni- 


CAN  WASHING 


143 


formly  good  results,  they  can  be  adjusted  to  any  speed  and  to 
any  length  of  exposure  of  the  cans  to  washing,  steaming  and 
drying  and  their  work  is  far  superior  to  that  of  the  average 
washing  by  hand. 

Essentials  of  Efficient  Can  Washing.— Jn  the  proper  cleans- 
ing of  cans  there  are  four  essential  operations,  namely,  the 
washing,  rinsing,  steaming  and  drying. 


Tig.  20.     Mechanical  can  washer 
Courtesy  Lathrop- Paulson  Co. 

The  washing  of  the  cans  should  remove  all  remnants  of 
milk  or  cream.  In,  the  case  of  hand  washing  this  is  best  done 
by  immersing  the  can  in  a  wash  tank  of  suitable  size  and  con- 
taining a  solution  of  washing  powder  or  other  alkali  in  hot 
water.  The  cans  are  washed  both  inside  and  out  with  a  stiff 
bristle  brush.  In  the  hydraulic  machines  the  hot  alkali  water 
is  forced  into  the  cans  under  pressure  and  the  force  of  the 
water  is  intended  to  take  the  place  of  the  brush.  In  some  of 
these  machines  clear  hot  water  is  used  for  this  purpose  without 
any  addition  of  alkali.  Experience  has  shown  that  milk  cans 
and  cream  cans  which  are  not  coated  with  dried  cream  can  be 
quite  successfully  cleansed  in  this  way.  Old  cream  cans,  how- 
ever, in  which  the  cream  has  dried  onto  the  inside  of  the  can 
need  a  special  hand  scrubbing  to  insure  thorough  cleansing. 


144  CAN  WASHING 

After  the  cans  are  freed  from  the  remnants  of  milk  or 
cream  they  should  be  thoroughly  rinsed.  This  is  usually  done 
by  inverting  them  over  a  water  jet  attached  to  one  end  of  the 
wash  tank.  Or  in  the  case  of  hydraulic  can  washers  the  cans 
pass  from  the  washing  jets  to  the  rinsing  jets.  In  hand 
washing  the  rinsing  process  is  too  often  neglected  and 
remnants  of  the  unclean  wash  water  remain  in  the  cans  serving 
as  an  active  starter  to  pollute  the  next  batch  of  cream.  The 
cans  should  be  thoroughly  rinsed  after  they  are  washed.  The 
rinsing  is  preferably  done  with  hot  water,  so  as  to  make  more 
effective  the  subsequent  steaming  and  drying. 


Fig*.  21.     Mechanical  can  washer 

Courtesy  Rice  &  Adams  Corp. 

The  properly  rinsed  cans  are  then  ready  for  the  steam- 
ing process.  This  is  accomplished  by  inverting  them  over  a 
steam  jet  and  blowing  steam  into  them  until  they  are  "piping" 
hot.  In  the  case  of  hand  wash  tanks  the  steam  jet  is  usually 
installed  in  close  proximity  to  the  water  jet  so  that  the  cans 
can  be  rinsed  and  steamed  in  one  operation.  In  the  hydraulic 
can  washers  the  cans  pass  on  automatically  from  the  rinsing 
jets  to  the  steaming  jets.  The  purpose  of  steaming  is  to  destroy 
the  germs  still  contained  in  the  cans  and  to  render  the  cans  as 
nearly  sterile  as  possible.  The  length  of  time  required  for  thor- 
ough steaming  depends  much  on  the  steam  pressure,  the  size  of 
the  steam  pipe  and  the  distance  between  the  steam  jet  and  the 
boiler.  Under  ordinary  creamery  conditions  the  steaming  should 
last  at  least  30  seconds.  A  shorter  time  is  insufficient  to  insure 
effective  germ-killing  action.  Steaming  for  5  to  10  seconds,  as  is 


CAN  WASHING  145 

all  too  often  the  case,  does  not  accomplish  the  desired  purpose. 
Its  sterilizing  action  is  incomplete. 

The  last  but  not  least  important  step  in  the  cleansing  of 
the  cans  is  the  drying.  If  the  cans  are  to  arrive  at  the  farm 
in  sweet  condition  and  free  from  objectionable  odors,  they  must 
be  dry  when  they  are  sealed  with  the  lid.  Water  left  in  the 
cans  is  certain  to  start  bacterial  action.  The  drying  is  best  done 
by  inverting  the  steam  cans  over  a  hot  air  blast.  This  blast  is 
generated  by  means  of  a  centrifugal  fan  blowing  atmospheric 
air  through  a  chamber  filled  with  steam  pipes.  In  the  absence  of 
the  hydraulic  can  washer  the  hot  air  outlet  is  located  near  the 
steam  jet  at  the  end  of  the  wash  tank.  In  the  hydraulic  can 
washers  the  cans  automatically  pass  from  the  steam  jets  to 
the  hot  air  jets.  The  drying  of  the  cans  is  indispensable,  not 
only  to  improve  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  cans  but  also  to 
prevent  rapid  rusting  and  to  preserve  the  life  of  the  cans. 

Cleansing  the  Can  Covers. — The  can  covers  should  receive 
the  same  treatment  of  washing,  rinsing,  steaming  and  drying 
as  the  cans  themselves.  Too  often  no  provision  is  made  to 
properly  treat  the  covers.  They  are  just  washed  and  possibly 
rinsed  and  slightly  steamed.  When  these  wet  covers,  dripping 
with  rinse  water,  are  placed  on  the  clean,  dry  cans,  some  water  is 
bound  to  enter  the  cans  and  the  good  effects  of.  the  can  drying 
are  largely  forfeited.  Most  of  the  hydraulic  can  washers  pro- 
vide for  the  washing,  rinsing,  steaming  and  drying  of  the  covers, 
too. 

Can  Washing  at  the  Cream  Station.— It  is  obvious  that  the 
limited  business  and  facilities  of  the  cream  station  preclude  the 
use  of  mechanical  can  washing  machines  and  that  the  cans,  if 
they  are  washed  at  all  must  be  washed  by  hand.  But  even  this 
process  requires  the  availability  of  hot  water  and  preferably  of 
steam.  The  larger  and  properly-managed  cream  stations  are 
equipped  with  a  small  boiler,  a  wash  tank  with  steam  jet  and  a 
rack  for  drying  the  cans.  Where  a  steam  boiler  is  not  available, 
the  station  should  use  some  other  simple  and  inexpensive  means 
for  sterilizing  the  cans  and  other  equipment  that  comes  in 
direct  contact  with  the  cream.  For  this  purpose  the  steam  steril- 


146  CAN  WASHING 

izer  devised  by  Ayres  and  Taylor1  of  the  United  States  Dairy 
Division  is  recommended. 

Size,  Quality  and  Construction  of  Cans,  Rusty  and  Dam- 
aged Cans. — For  shipping  or  hauling  milk  the  10  gallon  can 
is  the  most  popular  can.  Most  farmers  who  ship  milk  have 
enough  of  it  most  of  the  time  to  fill  a  10  gallon  can.  This  refers 
largely  to  creamery  patrons.  In  the  case  of  milk  that  is  in- 
tended for  city  milk  consumption,  the  8  gallon  can  pre- 
dominates in  many  localities.  For  shipping  cream  a  smaller 
can  is  preferable  and  the  5  gallon  can  is  recommended.  The 
smaller  can  is  filled  in  a  shorter  time  and  encourages  more 
frequent  shipments,  thus  helping  the  creamery  to  secure  a  fresher 
cream.  The  shipping  rate  on  the  5  gallon  can  also  is  less  than 
that  on  the  10  gallon  can,  so  that  it  is  cheaper  to  ship  a  5  gal- 
lon can  full  than  a  ten  gallon  can  only  part  full.  Again,  the  pur- 
chasing price  of  the  small  can  is  less  than  that  of  the  large  can. 

Generally  speaking,  a  well  constructed  can  made  of  heavy 
tin  plate  lasts  longer  and  gives  better  service  than  a  can  of 
light  construction.  However,  in  the  case  of  sour  cream,  the 
acid  corrodes  and  rusts  even  the  best  cans  in  time,  and  it  is 
a  debatable  question  whether  it  is  preferable  to  buy  a  cheap 
can  that  can  be  replaced  with  little  expense  as  soon  as  it  shows 
signs  of  corrosion,  or  to  buy  a  more  expensive  can  that  will 
last  somewhat  longer.  Especially  when  the  can  is  paid  for 
by  the  producer  he  often  objects  to  the  paying  of  the  price 
of  a  high  grade  can. 

All  cans,  if  not  made  of  pressed  tin,  should  have  their  seams 
well  flushed  with  solder  so  as  to  avoid  the  lodging  of  remnants 
of  decaying  cream  in  the  seams  at  the  bottom,  side  or  shoulder. 

All  cans  should  receive  a  special  inspection  at  regular  inter- 
vals and  cans  which  contain  more  than  about  1  square  inch  of 
rust  spots  should  be  scoured  with  some  good  friction  material, 
such  as  cement  or  emery  powder.  Cans  that  do  not  respond  to 
this  treatment  and  that  show  excessive  rustiness  should  be 
discarded.  Also,  cans  with  loose  shoulders,  if  they  cannot  be 
mended  satisfactorily,  should  be  removed  from  service. 

The  fact  that  the  can  is  rusty  indicates  that  the  tin  coat- 

1  Ayres   and    Taylor,    A   Simple    Steam    Sterilizer   for   Farm    Dairy   Utensils, 
U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  B.  A.  I.  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  748,  1916. 


CAN  WASHING  147 

ing  has  become  defective  in  spots  and  that  iron  is  exposed.  The 
exposed  iron  is  chemically  acted  upon  by  the  acid  and  some 
of  the  other  constituents  of  the  cream,  causing  the  formation 
of  metallic  salts,  which  hasten  the  decomposition  of  some  of  the 
constituents  of  the  cream,  either  through  chemical  action,  or 
by  accelerating  the  action  bf  bacteria,  or  enzymes,  or  both,  and 
leading  to  diverse  flavor  defects  in  butter,  such  as  metallic 
flavor,  tallowy  flavor,  fishy  flavor,  etc. 

Rusty  cans  are  objectionable  also  for  sanitary  reasons.  Rust 
spots  present  a  rough  surface,  on  which  remnants  of  milk  and 
cream  lodge  readily  and  from  which  they  are  difficult  to  re- 
move, and  the  rust  spots  harbor  and  hold  moisture  to  such  an 
extent,  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  thoroughly  dry  the  cans  by  the 
use  of  equipment  and  methods  entirely  adequate,  for  the  drying 
of  cans  free  from  rust.  The  tendency  of  rusty  cans  to  not  be 
perfectly  clean  and  completely  dry,  causes  these  cans  almost 
invariably  to  become  foul-smelling,  and  to  pollute  the  cream 
and  injure  the  butter  made  from  it. 

Replacing  Old  Cans  by  New  Ones. — An  effective  means  to 
maintain  a  satisfactory  standard  of  quality  and  condition  of  the 
cans  in  use  is  to  adopt  a  system  whereby,  at  definite  intervals,, 
each  month  or  so,  a  certain  per  cent,  say  one  per  cent,  of  the 
cans,  those  that  are  in  the  poorest  condition,  is  discarded.  In 
this  manner  there  is  a  constant  renewal  of  cans  and  at  a  com- 
paratively small  cost  at  any  one  time. 

Retinning  Rusty  Cans. — Some  creameries  maintain  a  tin- 
shop  of  their  own,  where  defective  cans  may  be  repaired  and 
rusty  cans  retinned.  When  this  can  be  done  at  a  moderate  ex- 
pense, it  is  certainly  a  commendable  practice.  In  many  in- 
stances, however,  experience  has  shown  that  the  cost  of  re- 
tinning  was  out  of  proportion  to  the  value  of  the  can,  and  was 
too  great  to  justify  it. 

There  are  now  in  operation  several  outside  concerns,  who 
are  specializing  in  repair  work  of  this  type  and  who  dismantle 
old  cans,  retin  the  pieces  and  reassemble  them  in  a  manner 
that  the  repaired  can  is  practically  as  good  as  new,  and  at  a 
cost  somewhat  lower  than  the  price  of  a  new  can. 


148  NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 

The  relation  between  the  condition  of  the  cream  can  and 
the  quality  of  the  butter  is  so  intimate,  and  the  effect  of  the 
use  of  cans  that  are  in  poor  condition  is  so  injurious  to  the 
quality  of  the  butter,  that  the  matter  of  proper  care  and  re- 
pair of  cream  cans  is  a  problem  that  demands  most  serious  at- 
tention. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM. 

Definition. — By  neutralization  of  cream  for  butter  making, 
is  understood  the  reduction  of  the  acid  in  sour  cream.  Chemical- 
ly, neutralization  would  mean  the  process  of  making  the  cream 
neutral,  removing  all  the  acid.  This  would  be  obviously  undesir- 
able in  the  case  of  cream  intended  for  buttermaking,  its  injury  to 
the  quality  of  the  resulting  butter  would  be  far  greater  than  its 
expected  benefits.  It  would  make  butter  of  very  inferior  flavor 
and  poor  keeping  quality.  In  fact  it  would  forfeit  the  benefits 
for  which  cream  is  neutralized. 

In  the  sense  used  in  the  creamery,  neutralization  refers  to 
the  removal  of  excess  acid,  reducing  the  acidky  to  say  .2  to  .3 
per  cent.  The  term  neutralization,  therefore,  is  a  misnomer, 
it  is  misleading,  inasmuch  as  it  misrepresents  the  intent  and 
practice  of  the  process.  A  more  correct  name  for  this  process 
would  be  the  "Standardization  of  Cream  for  Acid."  However, 
neutralization  has  become  an  established  trade  name,  it  has 
become  an  inherent  part  in  the  creameryman's  vocabulary,  so 
that,  in  order  to  avoid  confusion  and  for  the  sake  of  clearness, 
it  seems  advisable  to  retain  the  trade  name,  "neutralization" 
in  this  discussion. 

Object  of  Neutralization. — With  the  help  of  proper  neutrali- 
zation, the  creamery  hopes  to  and  does  accomplish  the  following 
three  principle  objects: 

1.  To  avoid  excessive  loss  of  fat  that  results  from  churn- 
ing cream  that  is  pasteurized  while  excessively  sour. 

.  2.  To  guard  against  the  production  of  undesirable  flavors 
in  cream  which  are  prone  to  result  when  cream  that  is  high  in 
acid  is  pasteurized  at  a  high  temperature. 

3.    To  improve  the  keeping  quality  of  butter  made  from  high 


v    NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM  149 

acid  cream.  Butter  made  from  cream  which  is  very  sour,  does 
not  keep  well. 

These  are  the  only  objects  that  can  be  accomplished  with 
neutralization.  They  all  hinge  on  the  reduction  of  the  acid  of 
sour  cream  before  pasteurization. 

Improvement  of  the  flavor  of  butter  made  from  tainted 
cream,  or  the  removal  of  rancidity  by  neutralization,  is  not  pos- 
sible, notwithstanding  many  claims  to  the  contrary.  These  facts 
have  been  conclusively  established,  as  may  be  noted  in  succeed- 
ing paragraphs  of  this  chapter. 

Importance  of  Correct  Neutralization. — That  neutralization 
of  cream  has  been  a  wonderful  help  to  the  manufacturer  of  but- 
ter who  receives  sour  cream,  is  an  undisputed  fact.  Experience 
has  demonstrated  beyond  all  question,  that  proper  neutralization 
of  sour  cream  improves  the  keeping  quality  of  butter. 

But  great  as  the  benefits  are  that  can  be  derived  from 
proper  neutralization,  so  are  also  disastrous  the  results  of  im- 
proper neutralization.  Over-neutralization  is  absolutely  ruin- 
ous to  butter.  It  is,  therefore,  of  the  greatest  importance  that 
we  practice  correct  neutralization.  That  is,  a  process  must  be 
used  that  will  give  the  full  benefits  of  proper  neutralization  and 
that  will  at  the  samle  time  protect  the  butter  against  the  dis- 
astrous effect  of  over-neutralization. 

How  to  Neutralize. — The  important  requisites  of  accurate 
and  reliable  neutralization  may  be  conveniently  grouped  as 
follows : 

1.  Adoption   of  a   definite   standard   of  acidity. 

2.  Correct  and  accurate  test  for  acidity. 

3.  Choice  and  use  of  the  right  kind  of  neutralizer. 

4.  Use  of  the  right  strength  and  amount  of  neutralizer. 

5.  Adding    the    neutralizer    to    the    cream    in    the    right 
manner. 

6.  Checking  of  results  by  retesting. 

Adoption  of  a  Definite  Standard  of  Acidity.— The  operator 
must  first  of  all  decide  to  what  point  the  acidity  shall  be  re- 
duced. If  neutralization  really  means  "standardization"  of  the 
acid  in  the  cream,  it  is  obvious  that  there  must  be  a  standard 


150  NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 

of  acidity.  It  is  essential  then  that  such  a  standard  be  estab- 
lished. Only  then  is  there  something  definite,  something  worth 
while,  to  work  to;  and,  having1  established  such  a  standard, 
it  must  be  abided  by. 

There  are  differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  most  desirable 
point,  or  per  cent  acid,  to  neutralize  to.  However,  extensive 
scientific  experiments  conducted  by  the  writer  and  others,  as 
well  as  practical  experience  in  the  manufacture  of  butter,  have 
conclusively  demonstrated  that,  in  order  to  realize  the  full  ben- 
efits of  neutralization,  the  acid  content  of  the  cream  must  be 
reduced  to  somewhere  near  .3  per  cent  acid,  and  that  we  are 
approaching  too  near  the  neutral  point  and  the  dangers  that 
accompany  it,  when  the  acidity  is  dropped  much  below  .2  per  cent. 

Making  reasonable  allowance  for  fluctuations  and  inaccu- 
racies in  the  results  of  neutralization,  caused  by  the  complexity 
of  the  reactions  of  the  neutralizer  in  cream  of  varying  condi- 
tions, and  by  the  naturally  crude  technique  of  the  process  as 
manipulated  by  the  usually  busy  and  often  untrained  operator, 
a  standard  of  acidity  should  be  adopted  that  will  permit  of 
considerable  latitude  up  and  down,  without,  on  the  one  hand 
forfeiting  the  benefits  of  neutralization,  and  on  the  other  hand 
jeopardizing  the  quality  of  the  product. 

Neutralization  to  .25  per  cent  acid,  as  indicated  by  the 
usual  acid  test  with  decinormal  sodium  hydroxide  and  phe- 
nolphthalein  as  indicator,  has  been  found  to  best  take  care  of 
these  fluctuating  conditions  and  errors  of  operation.  A  stand- 
ard of  .25  per  cent  acid,  therefore,  has  been  adopted  for  the 
purpose  of  these  discussions  and  is  recommended  to  be  adhered 
to.  It  is  not  claimed  that  this  arbitrary  standard  is  neces- 
sarily the  best  under  all  conditions,  but  it  may  well  be  accepted 
as  the  perfect  standard  for  average  creamery  conditions. 

Testing  Correctly  for  Acidity. — It  is  obvious  that  the  accu- 
racy of  neutralization  centers  fundamentally  on  the  accuracy 
of  the  acid  test.  Reduction  of  the  acidity  to  a  definite  standard 
point  need  not  be  expected,  unless  the  operator  is  able  to  de- 
termine the  correct  per  cent  acid  contained  in  the  cream  before 
neutralization. 

Numerous  simple  and  accurate  acid  tests  are  available  for 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM  151 

the  purpose.  They  all  refer  to  the  use  of  a  dilute  solution 
(usually  a  decinormal  solution)  of  sodium  hydroxide.  Detailed 
directions  for  these  tests  are  recorded  in  the  chapter  on  "Tests 
and  Analyses/'  etc.,  Chapter  XXII.  If  a  decinormal  solution  of 
sodium  hydroxide,  and  an  18  c.c.  pipette  are  used  for  measuring 
the  cream,  each  two-tenths  cubic  centimeter  of  alkali  solution,  as 
shown  on  the  graduation  of  the  burette,  represents  .01  per  cent 
acid.  Hence  the  number  of  c.c.  alkali  solution  divided  by  20 
gives  the  correct  per  cent  acid  in  the  cream.  Thus,  if  say 
7.4  c.c.  alkali  solution  is  required  to  turn  the  cream  pink  the 

7  4 
per  cent  acid  is      '      =  .37%. 

Choice  of  Neutralizes — There  is  a  variety  of  neutralizers 
that  have  been  and  are  being  used  for  the  purpose  of  reducing 
the  acidity  in  cream  intended  for  buttermaking. 

Neutralizers  used  for  the  purpose  of  reducing  acidity,  must 
have  alkaline  properties,  they  must  be  alkalies,  or  alkaline 
earths,  or  their  carbonates.  An  alkali  is  a  substance  that  neu- 
tralizes acids,  forming  salts,  and  that  saponifies  fats.  The 
most  common  neutralizers  that  have  found  application  in  the 
creamery  are  the  carbonates  of  sodium  (soda  ash),  and  of  calci- 
um (chalk),  the  bicarbonate  of  soda  (baking  soda),  the  hydrate 
of  soda  (soda  lye),  and  of  calcium  (lime  water  and  milk  of 
lime),  and  the  oxide  of  calcium  and  of  magnesium  (quick  lime 
and  magnesia  lime). 

The  chief  advantages  of  carbonate  and  bicarbonate  of  soda 
are  that  they  are  readily  soluble  and,  therefore,  can  be  easily 
made  up  into  solutions  of  desired  strength.  This  is  a  distinct 
advantage.  Calcium  carbonate,  on  the  other  hand,  is  very  in- 
soluble and  slow  of  action,  which  renders  its  use  unsuitable 
for  this  purpose.  All  carbonates  above  mentioned  liberate  car- 
bondioxide  gas  when  they  are  added  to  the  sour  cream.  This 
fact  is  claimed  by  some  to  be  greatly  in  favor  of  their  use, 
as  neutralizers.  The  claim  is  that  the  carbondioxide  gas  per- 
culating  upward  in  and  escaping  from  the  cream,  mechanically 
carries  with  it  volatile  gases  having  undesirable  odors  and 
thereby  removes  from  the  cream,  objectionable  odors  and 
flavors. 


152  NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 

The  extent  and  value  of  this  expulsion  of  gases  and  the  con- 
sequent improvement  of  the  flavor  of  the  butter,  made  from 
cream  neutralized  with  carbonates,  are  however  much  over- 
estimated. The  expulsion  of  carbondioxide  and  other  gases 
that  miay  be  present  in  the  cream  will  occur  to  a  large  extent 
in  all  cream,  whether  neutralized  or  not,  during  the  process 
of  pasteurization.  In  fact,  the  flavor-improving  effect  of  car- 
bonate neutralizers  is  largely  imaginary.  If  these  claims  were 
well-founded,  it  should  be  possible  to  make  No.  1  butter  from 
Grade  2  cream.  This  cannot  be  done.  Distinct  off-flavors  in  the 
cream  do  not  disappear  by  the  use  of  these  neutralizers. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  use  of  carbonate  and  bicarbonate 
neutralizers  has  the  serious  disadvantage  of  robbing  the 
operator  of  the  ability  to  check  the  accuracy  of  his  work,  be- 
cause the  carbondioxide  formed  in  the  cream  when  these  neu- 
tralizers are  used,  reacts  acid,  causing  the  test  to  show  a  higher 
acidity  than  the  lactic  acid  content  of  the  cream  represents.  These 
tests  could  be  made  to  show  the  correct  acidity  by  boiling  the 
sample  of  cream  to  be  tested,  or  by  blowing  air  through  it, 
both  of  which  practices  would  expel  the  carbondioxide,  but 
these  practices  are  objectionable  in  practical  creamery  opera- 
tion, because  of  the  d.elay  their  application  would  inevitably 
cause  in  the  work  and  also  because  of  the  danger  of  incom- 
plete execution.  Methyl  orange  indicator,  which  is  not  affected 
by  the  carbondioxide,  might  be  used  instead  of  phenolphthalein, 
but  it  is  not  suitable,  because  it  fails  to  show  a  definite,  sharp 
end  reaction  in  weak  organic  acid  such  as  lactic  acid. 

Because  of  their  generation  of  carbonic  acid  gas  in  sour 
cream,  the  use  of  carbonates  and  bicarbonates  often  presents 
mechanical  difficulties,  causing  the  cream  to  foam  up  and  over 
the  vat,  unless  such  neutralizers  are  used  with  care.  This 
is  especially  true  in  the  case  of  high-acid  cream  and  when  the 
temperature  of  the  cream  is  relatively  high  at  the  time  the 
carbonate  is  added. 

Sodium  carbonate  and  sodium  bicarbonate  are  more 
troublesome  in  this  respect  than  calcium  carbonate,  the  for- 
mer being  readily  soluble  and  acting  quickly,  while  the  cal- 
cium carbonate  is  practically  insoluble  in  water  and  therefore 


NEUTRALIZATION  OP  SOUR  CREAM  153 

acts  more  slowly  on  the  acid,  distributing  the  evolution  of  car- 
bondioxide  gas  over  a  longer  period  of  time  and  lessening  the 
tendency  of  the  cream  to  violently  foam. 

Of  the  hydrates,  lime  appears  to  be  the  only  really  suitable 
alkali  to  use.  It  is  mild  in  its  action,  does  not  injure  the  flavor 
of  the  butter  when  used  intelligently,  does  not  appreciably  at- 
tack the  metal  of  the  vats  and  other  equipment,  tends  to  form 
with  that  portion  of  the  casein  with  which  it  reacts,  a  precipi- 
tate of  relatively  great  stability  and  resistance  against  bacterial 
action,  and  it  combines  with  the  curd  first,  rendering  that  por- 
tion of  the  curd  which  enters  into  the  composition  of  the  butter 
less  acid — thereby  minimizing  the  acidity  of  the  butter  and 
its  deteriorating  power. 

Sodium  hydrate,  the  cheapest  form  of  which,  for  neutral- 
izing purposes,  is  soda  lye,  has  strong  caustic  properties.  It 
and  the  sodium  lactate  w^hich  it  forms  in  the  sour  cream,  readily 
attack  and  dissolve  metals  such  as  copper  and  even  tin*  causing 
the  vat  linings  and  coils  and  the  pasteurizers  to  turn  black  and 
the  cream  and  butter  to  contain  undue  quantities  of  metallic 
salts  which  are  detrimental  to  its  flavor  and  keeping  quality. 
Sodium,  unlike  lime,  reacts  with  the  lactic  acid  of  the 
cream  first,  and,  inasmuch  as  in  the  neutralization  of  cream, 
acid  reduction  is  not  carried  to  the  neutral  point,  there 
is  but  slight  action  on  the  casein,  leaving  the  curd  in  butter 
made  from  sodium-neutralized  cream,  in  more  acid  condition 
than  is  the  case  with  butter  from  lime-neutralized  cream.  Again, 
while  in  lime-neutralized  cream  the  undissolved  casein  appears 
in  relatively  large  aggregates  of  marked  firmness  and  apparent 
insolubility,  in  sodium-neutralized  cream  the  insoluble  portion 
of  the  casein  is  soft,  it  suggests  greater  solubility  and  less  re- 
sistence  to  bacterial  action. 

The  flavor  of  the  butter  made  from  cream  neutralized  with 
soda  lye,  sodium  carbonate,  or  sodium  bicarbonate  is  prone  to 
have  a  soapy  character.  This  is  especially  true  of  cream  of 
high  original  acidity  and  cream  in  which  the  acid  is  reduced 
very  close  to  the  neutral  point.  With  lime  hydrate,  properly 
prepared  and  intelligently  used  and  using  a  sufficient  quantity 
only  to  reduce  the  acidity  to  .25  per  cent  or  thereabout,  no  ob- 
jectionable flavor  effects  occur. 


154  NEUTRALIZATION  OP  SOUR  CREAM 

The  popular  claim  that  the  use  of  lime  conveys  to  butter 
a  limy  flavor  does  not  apply  to  the  proper  neutralization  with 
lime  hydrate,  it  is  the  result  of  the  abuse  of  lime  resulting  from 
inaccurate  and  faulty  methods.  Butter  made  from  cream  prop- 
erly neutralized  with  milk  of  lime  shows  no  such  flavor  defect. 
On  the  contrary,  its  flavor  is  pleasant  and  its  keeping  quality, 
other  conditions  being  the  same,  is  superior.  Butter  may,  how- 
ever, show  a  limy  flavor  when  the  lime  neutralizer  is  not  used 
properly;  if  the  lime  mix  is  too  concentrated  and  is  not  ade- 
quately diluted  before  it  is  added  to  the  cream,  or  if  too  much 
neutralizer  is  added,  as  is  very  often  the  case  with  high  acid 
cream  when  no  mathematically  correct  system  of  neutralization 
is  used,  and  when  the  senses  of  taste  and  smell  constitute  the 
only  means  to  determine  whether  the  acidity  in  the  cream  has 
been  sufficiently  reduced. 

Another  very  common  cause  of  limy  flavor  in  butter  made 
from  high  acid  cream  due  to  over-neutralization  lies  in  the  fact 
that  where  the  liming  is  done  by  guess  only,  the  cream  is 
usually  tested  immediately  after  neutralization  and  if  the  acidity 
at  that  time  is  higher  than  desired,  more  neutralizer  is  added. 
Since  the  action  of  the  lime  is  slow  and  is  not  completed  until 
after  the  neutralized  cream  has  been  pasteurized,  it  is  obvious 
that  the  acid  test  made  immediately  after  neutralization  does 
not  indicate  the  true  acidity  of  the  cream.  If  more  lime  is 
added  on  the  basis  of  this  acid  test,  there  is  danger  of  over- 
neutralization,  resulting  in  limy-flavored  butter  and  other  flavor 
defects. 

In  an  effort  to  avoid  limy  flavor  some  creameries  use  both, 
lime  hydrate  and  sodium  carbonate.  They  reduce  the  acidity 
of  the  cream  with  lime  to  say  about  .35  to  .4  per  cent  acid  and 
then  complete  the  neutralization  to  the  desired  point  with  so- 
dium carbonate.  By  this  method  they  claim  to  secure  the 
beneficial  action  of  the  escaping  carbondioxide,  thus  combin- 
ing the  advantages  of  lime  hydrate  and  sodium  carbonate  with- 
out suffering  from  the  disadvantages  of  either.  The  lesser  am- 
ount of  lime  used  minimizes  the  danger  of  a  limy  flavor  and 
the  small  amount  of  sodium  carbonate  required  and  added  to 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM  155 

the  low-acid  cream,  prevents  excessive  foaming  and  does  away 
with  the  tendency  to  produce  a  soapy  flavor. 

There  is  no  reason  why  the  double  neutralization,  when  prop- 
erly done,  should  not  produce  very  satisfactory  results.  How- 
ever, it  too  largely  forfeits  the  ability  of  the  buttermaker  to 
check  his  work  by  determining  the  per  cent  acid  in  the  neu- 
tralized cream,  since  the  presence  of  sodium  carbonate  makes 
difficult  the  accurate  determination  of  the  end  reaction  in  the 
acid  tests.  Moreover,  when  milk  of  lime  is  used  correctly  and 
intelligently,  double  neutralization  is  unnecessary. 

Finally,  lime  is  a  natural  constituent  of  milk  and  butter, 
it  is  not  only  harmless,  but  represents  one  of  the  essential 
minerals  required  by  the  human  body  for  maintenance  and 
especially  for  growth.  If  any  portion  of  the  neutralizer,  no  matter 
how  small,  does  enter  into  the  composition  of  the  butter,  it  is 
essential  that  it  add  to,  rather  than  detract  from  the  healthfulness 
and  dietetic  value  of  the  butter.  From,  the  standpoint  of  the 
welfare  of  the  consumer,  therefore,  lime  is  not  only  the  least 
harmful  but,  in  fact,  the  most  beneficial  and  hence  the  most 
suitable  alkali  available  for  reduction  of  the  acidity  in  cream. 

For  the  numerous  and  obvious  reasons  above  discussed, 
lime  hydrate  constitutes  overwhelmingly  the  most  suitable  form 
of  neutralizer  available  for  the  reduction  of  acid  in  sour  cream. 
All  further  discussion  of,  and  directions  for  neutralization  in 
this  chapter  will,  therefore,  be  confined  to  the  use  of  lime  hydrate. 

Strength  and  Amount  of  Neutralizers. — Having  established 
a  standard  acidity  to  which  to  neutralize,  and  knowing  the 
acidity  of  the  cream  before  neutralization,  it  is  a  simple  matter 
to  calculate  how  much  lime  to  use  to  secure  the  desired  results, 
but  here  again  accuracy  is  necessary;  for  guess  work  is  bound 
to  prove  unsatisfactory,  misleading  and  disappointing  in  the 
long  run. 

The  most  common  form  of  lime  used  for  neutralization  o£ 
cream  is  calcium  hydrate,  or  lime  hydrate.  Lime  hydrate  may 
be  used  in  two  forms,  namely  as  lime  water  and  as  milk 
of  lime. 

L,ime  water   consists   of  the  clear  water  which   separates 


156  NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 

on  the  surface  after  the  slaked,  but  undissolved  lime  has  drop- 
ped to  the  bottom.  The  lime  water  contains  lime  hydrate  in 
solution  only.  From  the  standpoint  of  ease  of  handling,  rap- 
idity of  action  and  accuracy  of  neutralization,  this  clear  lime 
water  would  be  most  suitable.  But  lime  is  only  very  slightly 
soluble  in  water.  It  is  soluble  to  the  extent  of  about  .137  per 
cent  in  cold  water  and  to  the  extent  of  .075  per  cent  in  boiling 
hot  water.  The  clear  lime  water  is  so  weak  and  its  neutral- 
izing power  so  slight  that,  in  order  to  reduce  the  acidity  in 
cream  from  say  .85  per  cent  to  .25  per  cent,  it  would  require 
lime  water  equal  in  volume  to  approximately  twice  the  volume 
of  the  cream  to  be  neutralized.  Clear  lime  water,  therefore,  is 
obviously  not  a  practical  neutralizer  to  use. 

A  stronger  lime  hydrate  must  be  used  and  this  consists  of 
milk  of  lime.  Milk  of  lime  is  a  watery  emulsion  of  lime  hydrate 
which  contains,  in  addition  to  lime  in  solution,  particles  of  un- 
dissolved lime.  The  milk  of  lime  is  somewhat  more  difficult 
to  handle  and  the  control  of  its  strength  is  less  easy,  because 
the  undissolved  particles  of  lime  settle  out  very  readily  and 
quickly.  It  is  difficult  to  maintain  a  homogeneous  emulsion  of 
it  and  its  neutralizing  action  is  somewhat  slow.  By  proper 
preparation  and  intelligent  handling,  however,  the  above  ob- 
jections are  largely  overcome. 

In  order  to  consistently  reduce  the  acidity  in  cream  to 
the  standard  of  .25  per  cent  acid,  and  to  determine  the  correct 
amount  of  lime  emulsion  to  use,  it  is  necessary  to  prepare  and 
use  a  neutralizing  emulsion  of  definite,  known  strength,  and 
that  can  be  manipulated  accurately  and  conveniently  and  that 
lends  itself  to  ready  and  even  distribution  and  uniform  action 
in  the  cream. 

The  mix  can  be  made  up  direct  from:  the  quick  lime  or 
calcium  oxide,  in  which  case  time  must  be  taken  to  properly 
slake  it.  Or  it  can  be  made  up  from  hydrated  lime  which  re- 
quires no  additional  slaking.  A  good  quality  of  hydrated  lime 
gives  fully  as  satisfactory  action  as  unslaked  lime,  and  it  re- 
quires much  less  work  and  trouble  to  prepare  the  mix.  Slak- 
ing lime  is  a  mason's  job  which  is  rarely  looked  upon  kindly 
or  done  properly  by  the  creamery  operator.  Improperly  and 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM  157 

incompletely  slaked  lime  makes  an  unsatisfactory  neutralize!", 
generally  containing  much  lime  carbonate  which  is  coarse,  does 
not  strain  readily,  is  insoluble  and  slow  of  action  in  the  cream. 

A  convenient  strength  and  consistency  of  milk  of  lime  is 
secured  by  two  pounds  of  dry  hydrated  lime  in  one  gallon  of 
lime  mix.  In  other  words,  add  enough  water  to  two  pounds 
of  dry  hydrated  lime  to  make  up  one  gallon  milk  of  lime.  This 
formula  has  the  further  advantage  that  it  is  easily  remembered 
by  the  operator.  Since  the  preparation  of  the  milk  of  lime  is 
a  somewhat  unpleasant  operation,  it  is  advisable  to.  make  it 
up  in  sufficiently  large  quantities  to  avoid  having  to  repeat 
the  operation  at  too  frequent  intervals. 

Having  adopted  this  ratio  of  lime  to  mix,  it  is  necessary 
to  ascertain  how  much  of  this  mix  it  takes  to  neutralize  .01  per 
cent  or  .01  pound  of  lactic  acid  in  100  pounds  of  cream.  It 
is  necessary  here,  to  remember  that  the  molecular  weight  of  pure 
lime  hydrate  is  74,  while  that  of  lactic  acid  is  90,  and  also  that, 
lime  hydrate,  being  bivalent,  its  strength  is  double  that  of 

lactic  acid.     In  other  words,  it  takes  — -  or  37  pound's  of  dry 

lime  hydrate  to  neutralize  90  pounds  of  lactic  acid.  Hence, 
the  amount  of  lime  hydrate  required  to  neutralize  .01  pounds 
or  .01  per  cent  lactic  in  100  pounds  of  cream  is: 

90:37  — .01  :X;  X  —  .00411  pounds  lime  hydrate. 

But  the  lime  hydrate  is  not  added  to  the  cream  in  dry  form, 
but  in  the  form  of  milk  of  lime  consisting  of  two  pounds  of  dry 
hydrated  lime  in  one  gallon  of  mix.  Hence  it  is  necessary 
to  know  how  many  pints  of  this  mix  are  required  to  neutralize 
.01  pounds  or  .01  per  cent  of  lactic  acid  in  100  pounds  of 
cream.  Since  the  lime  mix  contains  2  pounds  of  lime  hydrate 
in  one  gallon,  or  in  8  pints  of  mix,  this  factor  is  determined  as 
follows : 

2:8=  .00411  :  X ;  X  =  .01644  pints  lime  mix. 

This  then  means  that  for  every  .01  per  cent  acid  in  100 
pounds  of  cream  that  is  to  be  reduced,  we  must  add  to  the 
cream  .01644  pints  of  lime  mix. 


158 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 


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160  NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 

The  following  concrete  example  of  neutralization  may  serve 
to  illustrate  this  more  clearly:  The  vat  contains  2000  pounds  of 
cream,  the  cream  tests  .6  per  cent  acid,  which  is  to  be  re- 
duced to  .25  per  cent  acid.  How  many  pints  of  lime  mix  must 
be  added? 

Answer :     . 

Original  acid  in  cream 6  % 

Acid    desired 25% 

Acid  to  be  neutralized 35% 

Hence  the  amount  of  lime  mix 

required  is  .35  X  2000  X  .01644  =  11.5  pints. 

On  the  basis  of  this  formula,  then,  the  amount  of  lime  mix 
required  to  reduce  any  per  cent  of  acid  in  any  amount  of  cream 
to  the  desired  per  cent  acid,  can  readily  be  calculated,  and 
tables  can  be  assembled  whereby  the  exact  amount  of  lime  mix 
needed  can  be  read  off  at  a  glance.  For  the  convenience  of  the 
operator  tables  on  pp.  158  and  159  are  shown. 

If  the  creamery  prefers  to  make  up  its  milk  of  lime  direct 
from  lime  oxide  or  quick  lime,  which  is  unslaked  lime,  the 
same  formula  and  the  same  tables  may  serve  without  interfer- 
ing with  their  accuracy,  provided  that  the  formula  used  for 
making  up  the  milk  of  lime  is  modified.  The  unslaked  lime 
or  lime  oxide  is  stronger  than  the  hydrated  lime,  hence  the  milk 
of  lime  used  must  contain  somewhat  less  lime.  The  molecular 
weight  of  lime  oxide  is  56,  while  that  of  lime  hydrate  is  74. 
Hence  instead  of  using  enough  lime  to  make  each  gallon  of 
milk  of  lime  contain  two  pounds  of  lime,  the  amount  of  lime  oxide 
per  gallon  of  milk  of  lime  must  be  74  :  56  =  2  :  X;  X  =  1.5135 
pounds  lime  oxide. 

Accuracy  of  Results  of  Neutralization  Depends  on  Kind  of 
Lime  Used. — The  foregoing  calculations  were  made  on  the 
assumption  that  the  hydrated  lime  used  contains  100  per  cent 
calcium  hydrate  or  nearly  so,  and  examinations  of  the  hydrated 
calcium  limes  of  commerce  have  shown,  that  many  of  these  limes 
approach  this  standard  of  purity  quite  closely,  so  that  the  above 
calculations  should  yield  the  acid  reduction  herein  indicated. 


NEUTRALIZATION    Of    SOUR 


161 


Furthermore,  tests  of  milk  of  lime  so  made,  with  aqueous 
solutions  of  both  lactic  acid  and  hydrochloric  acid,  demon- 
strated that  these  limes  actually  have  the  power  to  reduce  the 
acid  in  the  aqueous  solutions  to  the  theoretically  calculated 
per  cent. 

However,  neutralization  of  sour  cream  and  neutralization 
of  aqueous  solutions  of  acid  are  two  vastly  different  problems, 
and  it  has  been  conclusively  demonstrated,  by  Hunziker  and 
Hosman1,  both  by  laboratory  experiments  and  by  factory  tests 
that,  while  in  aqueous  acid  solutions  the  neutralizing  action  of 
the  lime  is  complete,  in  cream,  not  all  of  the  lime  added  goes 
to  neutralize  the  lactic  acid  present.  These  facts  are  shown  in 
Table  25. 

Table  25. — Fourteen  Factory  Tests  in  Which  the  Cream  in  the 

Vats  Was  Tested  for  Acidity  Before  Neutralization,  and 

Three  Hours  After  Neutralization,  Showing  Per  Cent 

Neutralizer  not  Reacting. 

(Enough  lime  hydrate  was  added  to  theoretically  reduce  the  acid 
in  the  cream  to  .25%.) 


Acidity  i 

n  Cream 

Vat   No. 

Before 
Neutralization 

After  Neutral., 
Past,  and  Cooling 
3    Hrs.   After 
Neutral. 

Per  Cent 
Neutralizer 
Not  Reacting 

1  

.67 

33 

19.0 

2. 

.63 

.32 

18.4 

3  

.59 

.30 

14.7 

4  

.75 

.30 

10.0 

5.     . 

.77 

.33 

15.4 

6  

.65 

.33 

20.0 

7    .     . 

69 

.32 

15.9 

8  

.59 

.32 

20.6 

9     . 

100 

.35 

13.3 

10  

.85 

.37 

20.0 

11  

.85 

.33 

13.3 

12.    .. 

.75 

.35 

20.0 

13  

.71 

.32 

15.2 

14  

.99 

.34 

12.0 

Average   

.75 

.33 

16.3 

1  Hunziker  and  Hosman,  Investigation  of  Neutralizing  Action  of  Lime  in 
Different  Acid  Media,  Blue  Valley  Research  Laboratory,  1917.  Results  not 
published. 


162 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 


Table  26. — Reduction  of  Per  Cent  Acid  in  Cream  and  in  Aqueous 
Solution  of  Lactic  Acid  and  Per  cent  of  Lime  not  Reacting. 

Enough  lime  was  added  in  each  case  to  theoretically  reduce  the 

acidity  to  .25%. 


labora- 
tory 
Tests, 
No. 

Original 
Acid  in 
Cream 

% 

Acid  After 
Neutralization 

Difference 
Between  Acid  in 

Lime   Not   Re- 
acting 

In 
Cream 

% 

In  Lactic 
Acid^ol. 

% 

Cream  & 
Lactic 
Acid 
Sol.  % 

Cream  & 
.25%  Acid 
% 

In 

Cream 

% 

In  Lactic 
Acid  Sol. 

% 

1  

..900 

.385 
.367 
.346 
.390 
.372 

.250 
.238 
,255 
.261 
.251 

.135 
.117 
.091 
.129 
.118 

.135 
.129 
.096 
.140 
.125 

21.9 
20.0 
16.5 
200 
19.6 

—1.0 
0.0 
+0.6 
—1.1 
—0.38 

2.     .     .. 

.900 
.891 
.900 
.898 

3  

,4  

Average 

From  the  above  tables,  it  is  evident  that  from  about  16  to 
20  per  cent  of  the  theoretically  correct  amount  of  lime  added, 
fails  to  react  with  the  lactic  acid  of  the  cream.  In  the  factory 
tests  the  lime  not  so  reacting  averaged  16.3  per  cent  of  the 
total  lime  added,  while  in  the  laboratory  tests  the  deficiency 
in  acid  reduction  averaged  the  equivalent  of  19.6  per  cent  of 
the  lime  added.  In  the  laboratory  tests  the  amount  of  cream 
used  was  relatively  very  small  and  the  preparation  of  the  cor- 
respondingly very  small  amount  of  lime  mix  needed  was  diffi- 
cult, obviously  inviting  relatively  large  experimental  errors.  It 
may  be  assumed,  therefore,  with  reasonable  certainty  that  for 
all  practical  purposes  about  16  per  cent  of  the  theoretically  cal- 
culated amount  of  lime  that  is  required  to  neutralize  the  acidity 
in  cream  to  .25  per  cent  fails  to  react  on  the  lactic  acid. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  secure  the  full  neutralizing  action 
desired,  that  is  to  -reduce  the  acidity  of  the  cream  to 
.25  per  cent  by  the  use  of  the  neutralizing  formula  and  tables 
given,  it  is  necessary  to  increase  the  neutralizing  strength  of 
the  milk  of  lime  at  least  16  per  cent.  This  can  readily  be  done 
in  one  or  the  other  of  the  following  ways : 

a)  By  using  a  correspondingly  larger  proportion  of  dry 
hydrated  lime  in  making  up  the  lime  mix.  Since  the  acid- 
reducing  power  of  the  lime  mix  is  approximately  16  per  cent 
less  than  the  theoretical  calculations  specify,  each  100  parts 
of  lime  mix  has  an  actual  neutralizing  strength  of  only  84  parts. 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM  163 

Hence,  in  order  to  secure  100  per  cent  neutralizing1  action,  as 
called  for  in  the  tables,  it  is  necessary  to  add  enough  more  dry 
hydrated  lime  to  the  lime  mix  to  make  it  119  per  cent  (84  :  100 
—  100  :  X)  strong.  In  other  words,  the  amount  of  dry 
hydrated  lime  used  to  make  up  1  gallon  of  lime  mix  must  be 
increased  by  19,  or  in  round  figures  by  20  per  cent.  Instead 
of  using  2  pounds  of  lime  with  enough  water  to  make  up  1 

2  X  19 

gallon  of  mix,  use  2  -f-  ""  inn     —  2.4  pound,  of  dry  hydrated 

1UU 

lime ;    or 

b)  By  selecting  a  type  of  lime,  the  alkalinity  of  which  is 
approximately  19  to  20  per  cent  stronger  than  the  alkalinity 
of  100  per  cent  calcium  hydrated  lime.  An  extended  experi- 
mental study  of  the  neutralizing  action  of  different  types  of 
hydrated  limes  by  the  author  showed  that  these  stronger  limes 
are  readily  available  in  the  form  of  so-called  magnesium  limes. 
The  hydrated  limes,  commercially  known  as  magnesium  limes, 
contain  in  addition  to  calcium,  hydrate,  from  35  to  50  per  cent 
of  magnesium  oxide  and  their  actual  neutralizing  strength 
averages  from  about  16  to  20  per  cent  greater  than  hydrated 
lime  containing  100  per  cent  calcium  hydrate.  When  using 
a  magnesium  lime,  then,  the  original  formula  for  making  up 
the  lime  mix,  i.  e.,  two  pounds  dry  lime  with  enough  water  to 
make  up  one  gallon  of  mix,  will  reduce  the  acidity  in  the 
cream  to  the  desired  .25  per  cent  when  the  amounts  of  lime 
mix  to  be  added,  as  indicated  in  the  neutralizing  table  herein 
referred  to,  are  used. 

That  either  of  the  above  corrections,  as  given  under  (a) 
and  (b),  will  produce  correct  results,  and  will  neutralize  the 
cream  to  .25  per  cent  acid  under  practical  creamery  conditions, 
may  be  readily  observed  in  table  27  which  shows  the  averages 
of  1,545  churnings  of  cream,  each  churning  representing  250 
gallons  of  cream. 


164 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 


Table  27. — Maximum,  Minimum  and  Average  Per  Cent  Acid  in 
333  Churnings  of  Cream  Neutralized  with  Calcium  Lime  When 
20%  More  Lime  was  Used  Than  is  Necessary  to  Theoretically 
Reduce  the  Acidity  to  .25%,  and  Maximum,  Minimum  and  Aver- 
age Per  Cent  Acid  in  1212  Churnings  of  Cream  Neutralized  with 
Magnesium  (Lime)  Which  is  16  to  20%  Stronger  Than  Necessary 
to  Theoretically  Neutralize  to  .25%  Acid. 


Calcium    Lime 

Magnesium 

Lime 

Time   of 
Testing  for 
Acid 

No.  of 
Churn- 
ings 

Using    120%    of 
Lime  to  Theoret- 
ically Neutral, 
to  .25%.  Acid 

No.  of 
Churn- 
ings 

Using    100%    of 
Lime  Which 
Tested  16  to  20% 
Stronger    Than 
Calcium  Lime 

Max. 

Min. 

Aver. 

'Max. 

Min. 

Aver. 

Acid 

Acid 

Acid 

Acid 

Acid 

Acid 

Before    neutraliz. 

333 

.85 

.49 

.608 

1212 

.97 

.31 

.495 

After  neutraliz. 

333 

.28 

.22 

.250 

1212 

.30 

.22 

.251 

The  above  table  convincingly  shows  that  it  is  possible  to 
neutralize  to  exactly  .25  per  cent  acid  with  lime,  provided  that 
the  lime  not  reacting  is  compensated  for  by  using  20  per  cent 
more  lime  than  is  theoretically  required  in  the  case  of  calcium 
lime,  or  by  using  the  amount  of  lime  theoretically  necessary  for 
calcium  lime  in  the  form  of  magnesium  lime  which  is  from  16 
to  20  per  cent  stronger  in  alkalinity  than  the  calcium  lime. 
In  either  case  the  acidity  in  the  neutralized  cream  averages 
.25  per  cent. 

The  use  of  the  magnesium  lime  at  the  ratio  of  two  pounds 
of  dry  lime  in  one  gallon  of  mix,  is  preferable  to  the  use  of  the 
calcium  lime  at  the  ratio  of  2.4  pounds  of  dry  lime  in  one  gallon 
of  mix.  A  lime  mix  containing  2.4  pounds  of  dry  hydrated  lime 
in  one  gallon  of  mix  is  rather  thick  and  does  not  yield  to  agitation 
as  readily  as  might  be  desired.  Again  the  100  per  cent  calcium 
lime  is  seldom  as  finely  pulverized  as  it  ought  to  be  for  neutraliz- 
ing. Its  relative  coarseness  renders  it  somewhat  sluggish  in  its 
neutralizing  action  and  unless  intelligently  and  carefully  pre- 
pared and  handled,  it  tends  to  excessively  combine  mechanically 
with  the  curd  of  the  cream,  causing  lumps, 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM  165 

Magnesium   limes,  which   contain  35  to  50  per  cent  MgO 

have  an  alkalinity  equal  to  115  to  120  per  cent  of  pure  cal- 
cium hydrate.  Their  use  requires  only  2  pounds  of  the  lime 
in  one  gallon  of  mix,  to  reduce  the  acidity  to  .25  per  cent  by 
the  use  of  the  neutralizing  tables,  appended.  This  lime  mix  is 
lighter  and  thinner,  more  easily  agitated  and  made  uniform  in 
strength  when  used.  The  magnesium  lime  is  perfectly  whitte 
and  very  finely  pulverized,  it  distributes  more  readily  in  the 
cream  and  acts  very  satisfactorily.  It  does  not  convey  to  the 
cream  any  objectionable  flavor.  Lime  stone,  as  a  rule,  con- 
tains either  a  large  percentage  of  magnesium  (35  to  50  per  cent) 
or  a  very  small  percentage  of  magnesium,  less  than  5  per 
cent,  though  there  are  exceptions.  If  magnesium  lime  is  pur- 
chased, therefore,  with  the  intention  of  securing  a,  lime  with 
relatively  high  neutralizing  power,  it  should  be  ascertained 
that  the  lime  contains  35  or  more  per  cent  of  magnesium. 

Analyses1  show  that  the  hydrated  limes  containing  mag- 
nesium contain  only  enough  water  to  satisfy  the  calcium.  These 
limes,  therefore,  are  a  mixture  of  calcium  t  hydrate  and  mag- 
nesium oxide. 

Incomplete  Reaction  of  Lime  in  Cream  Due  to  Affinity  of 
Lime  for  Curd. — In  previous  paragraphs  it  was  shown  that 
while  the  lime  is  capable  of,  and  does  exert  its  full  neutralizing 
strength  in  aqueous  solutions  of  lactic  acid,  a  portion  of  the 
lime,  about  16  to  20  per  cent,  when  added  to  sour  cream, 
fails  to  so  act.  It  remains  now  to  explain  why  all  of  the  lime 
does  not  react  in  the  cream  and  what  becomes  of  that  portion 
which  fails  to  react  with  the  acid  in  the  cream. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  casein  has  a  marked  affinity 
for  calcium.  In  raw,  sweet  milk  and  cream  the  casein  is 
present  as  a  calcium  salt.  When  cream  becomes  sour,  the  lac- 
tic acid  thus  formed  removes  calcium  from  the  casein.  This 
leaves  a  part  of  the  casein  as  free  casein  which  is  a  solid,  and 
a  part  occurs  as  casein  lactate  which  is  in  a  colloidal  state. 
The  casein  lactate,  however,  is  readily  hydrolized;  upon  neu- 
tralization it  is  precipitated,  becoming  solid,  so  that  from  the 


1  Brigham,  S.   T.     Engineering  news,  Vol.   50. 


166 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 


standpoint  of  neutralization  of  cream,    it    may    be    considered 
equivalent  to  free  casein. 

When  lime  is  added  to  the  sour  cream  the  concentration 
of  the  acid  is  very  greatly  reduced  and  the  concentration  of 
the  calcium  is  increased  to  excess.  In  the  presence  of  free 
casein,  these  conditions  are  most  favorable  to  the  formation 
of  calcium  caseinate. 

Since  both  the  lime,  in  the  form  of  milk  of  lime,  and  the  casein 
are  in  a  similar  physical  state  and  have  a  specific  chemical  at- 
traction for  each  other,  it  appears  unnecessary  for  the  calcium 
to  go  into  solution  in  order  to  react  on  the  casein. 

That  such  action  takes  place  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
when  cream  is  poured  over  dry  hydrated  lime,  the  lime  gradually 
becomes  coated  with  a  layer  of  casein-like  material  that  adheres 
to  the  particles  of  lime  with  which  it  comes  in  immediate  contact. 
This  is  especially  noticeable  on  heating.  A  similar  action  seems 
to  take  place  when  the  lime  is  added  to  the  cream  in  the  vat, 
in  concentrated  form,  either  due  to  inadequate  dilution  of  the 
lime  mix  or  lack  of  proper  distribution.  Large  lumps  and  masses 
form,  the  solid  constituents  of  which  consist  largely  of  curd,  with 
a  very  high  lime  content,  and  in  which  is  locked  up  a  good  deal 
of  fat,  as  shown  in  Table  28. 

Table  28. — Composition  of  Lumps  in  Cream  Caused  by  the  Use 

of  Too  Coarse  or  Too  Concentrated  Lime,  or  By  Incomplete 

Distribution  of  the  Lime  Mix. 


Sample 
No. 

Water 

% 

Fat 

% 

Curd 

% 

Ash    Expressed 
as  CaO 

% 

Ash    Expressed 
in   Ca(OH)2 
% 

I 

5906 

2207 

6  13 

399 

5.27 

2..  
3  

57.96 
58.56  . 

19.29 
19.44 

8.73 
7.84 

3.82 
5.59 

5.05 
7.38 

The  greater  affinity  of  the  lime  for  the  casein  than  for  the 
lactic  acid  in  the  cream  is  proven  by  analysis  of  the  serum  and 
the  curd,  respectively,  of  cream  that  was  neutralized  to  .26% 
acid  with  milk  of  lime  of  the  standard  strength  of  two  pounds 
of  dry  hydrated  lime  made  up  with  water  to  one  gallon  of  mix, 
as  shown  in  Table  29. 


NEUTRALIZATION  otf  SOUR  CREAM 


167 


Table  29. — Relative  Action  of  Lime  on  Serum  and  on  Curd  in 
Cream  When  Neutralized. 


Components 
of 
Cream 

Per  Cent  Calcium  in  Cream 

Before 
Neutrali- 
zation 

After    Neutr. 
to  .26% 
Acidity 

Increase 
of 
Calcium 

Per  Cent 
Increase 
of   Calcium 

Serum    

.049 
.105 

.074 
.405 

.025 
.300 

51.0 
285.7 

Curd    , 

The  above  figures  show  that  while  the  serum  of  the  neu- 
tralized cream  contained  51%  more  calcium,  the  curd  contained 
285.7%  more  calcium  than  was  contained  in  the  serum  and  curd 
before  neutralization  of  the  cream.  This  evidence  can  leave  no 
doubt  regarding  the  fact  that  the  lime  reacts  with  the  casein  and 
that  this  action  exceeds  the  action  of  the  lime  on  the  lactic  acid 
in  the  cream. 

Since  casein  is  an  acid  body,  it  must  follow  that  the  readiness, 
with  which  it  enters  into  combination  with  the  lime  also  causes 
it  to  surrender  its  acidity  in  excess  of  the  action  of  the  lime  on 
the  lactic  acid.  Table  30  shows  that  such  is,  in  fact,  the  case. 

Table  30. — Relative  Action  of  Lime  on  the  Acid  of  the  Curd 
and  on  the  Lactic  Acid  in  the  Cream,  Serum  and  Fat. 


Per  Cent  Acid  in 


No. 

Cream 

Serum 

Curd 

Fat 

of 

LJn- 

Re- 

Un- 

Re- 

Un- 

!  Re- 

Un- 

Re- 

Sam- 

Neu- 

Neu- 

duc- 

Neu- 

Neu  -|  duc- 

Neu- 

Neu- 

duc- 

Neu- 

Neu-lduc- 

ples 

tral. 

tral. 

tion 

tral. 

tral. 

tion 

tral. 

tral. 

tion 

tral. 

tral. 

tion 

% 

% 

% 

% 

% 

% 

% 

% 

% 

% 

%    \    % 

1 

553 

261 

528 

369 

161 

564 

124 

043 

653 

046 

044 

43 

2  

.531 

.265 

50.1 

.373 

.174 

53.3 

.120 

.045 

62.5 

.036 

.036  1     0.0 

3... 

.560 

.193 

655 

375 

117 

688 

1?3 

034 

72.4 

.0521  .041 

?10 

Aver.    Reduction 

i 

1 

of  Acid                56.1 

59.5 

.66.7 

8.4 

Table  30,  unmistakably  shows  that  the  acid  in  the  curd  is 
reduced  to  a  greater  extent  than  the  lactic  acid  in  the  serum. 

It  should  be  understood  that  the  lower  the  point  to  which 
neutralization  of  the  cream  is  carried,  the  greater  is  naturally, 
the  relative  reduction  of  the  lactic  acid  in  the  serum.  But  even 
in  sample  No  3,  where  the  acidity  in  the  cream  was  reduced  to 


168  NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 

.193  per  cent,  the  per  cent  reduction  of  acid  in  the  curd  still 
exceeded  that  in  the  serum,  though  to  a  lesser  extent  than  when 
neutralization  was  carried  only  to  .26%  acid  in  the  cream.  The 
same  tendency  would  obviously  occur  in  the  case  of  cream  of 
very  high  acidity.  It  can  readily  be  seen  that  while  the  lactic 
acid  in  the  cream  can  be  increased  very  greatly,  the  per  cent  curd 
and  therefore,  the  amount  of  acid  it  contains  is  quite  constant 
and  remains  practically  the  same.  Hence  in  the  neutralization 
of  high-acid  cream,  the  per  cent  reduction  of  the  lactic  acid  in 
the  serum  might  be  greater  than  that  in  the  curd.  In  very  high 
acid  cream,  it  might  be  possible  for  the  acid  in  the  curd  to  be 
reduced  to  the  neutral  point.  This  is  improbable,  however, 
because  in  such  cream  the  stronger  acid  (the  lactic  acid  of  the 
serum)  would  claim  more  of  the  alkalinity  of  the  lime. 

It  should  be  noted  also  in  Table  30,  that  the  per  cent  reduc- 
tion of  the  acid  in  the  fat  is  very  slight.  This  may  be  explained 
by  the  probability  that  the  fat  becomes  saturated  with  lactic 
acid  from  the  acid  serum  and  the  acid  so  held  is  not  redistributed 
in  the  serum,  unless  the  serum  is  reduced  to  a  low  percentage 
of  acid.  This  assumption'  is  borne  out  in  the  case  of  Sample 
No.  3,  representing  cream  neutralized  to  .193  per  cent  acid  and 
in  which  the  acid  reduction  in  the  fat  was  abnormally  great. 

Ability  of  Acid  Test  with  Sodium  Hydroxide  to  Show  Total 
Acidity  in  Cream. — It  has  been  shown  that  the  lime  has  a  great 
affinity  for  the  casein,  that  the  curd  of  neutralized  cream  absorbs 
over  five  times  as  much  calcium  as  the  serum  and  that  the  action 
of  the  lime  on  the  acid  in  the  curd  is  in  excess  of  that  on  the 
lactic  acid  in  the  serum.  The  question  then  arises,  does  Sodium 
which  is  used  in  testing  the  cream  for  acid,  and  in  the  use  of 
which  the  titration  is  carried  to  the  neutral  point,  show  a  similar 
preference  for  the  acid  in  the  curd  as  the  lime?  In  other  words, 
does  the  acid  test  "show  the  total  acid  in  the  cream,  including 
both  the  lactic  acid  and  the  casein  acid,  or  does  it  indicate  the 
lactic  acid  only? 

This  question  is  important,  because  if  the  acid  test  rep- 
resented the  determination  of  the  lactic  acid  only,  then  it  would 
not  be  a  true  index  of  the  acidity  of  the  cream  and  it  would  also 
furnish  a  very  logical  explanation  of  why  a  portion  of  the  lime 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 


169 


added  to  the  cream  shows  no  reduction  in  the  acidity  as  deter- 
mined by  Mann's  acid  test. 

Table  31  demonstrates  that  sodium  hydroxide,  such  as  is 
used  in  the  acid  tests,  does  indicate  the  total  acid  in  the  cream, 
including  the  lactic  acid,  curd  acid  and  fat  acid.  Its  action  is 
very  nearly  equal  to  that  of  lime.  The  figures  in  this  table  were 
analyzed,  for  percentage  of  acidity,  separately.  The  table  shows 
that  the  sum  of  the  acid  in  the  components — the  serum,  curd  and 
fat — of  the  cream  is  practically  equal  to  the  acid  in  the  original 
cream. 


Table  31. — Per  Cent  Acid  in  Unneutralized  Cream  and  Its 

Components. 


Per  Cent  Acid  in  Cream  and 
Components   of   Cream  Its  Components 


Lot  l.|Lot2.|Lot3. 

Lot  4. 

Aver. 

Cream 

.560 

.531 

.553 

.461     | 

Serum    

.375 

.373 

.369    j.335     | 

Curd                            

.123 

.120 

.124 

.108     | 

Fat 

.052 

.036 

.046 

.039 

Total  components    . 

.550    |.529 

.539 

.482 

Difference    between    cream    and    total 
comoonents    . 

.01— 

.002— 

.014— 

1.021  + 

.001— 

"-"  acidity  in  total  components  less  than  acidity  in  cream. 
"  +  "  acidity  in  total  components  more  than  acidity  in  cream. 


Further  evidence  of  the  fact  that  sodium  shows  similar 
preference  for  curd  as  lime  does  may  be  found  in  Table  32.  In 
this  experiment  the  neutralizing  action  of  the  lime  water  (lime 
hydrate  in  solution)  and  sodium  hydrate  is  shown.  Here  neutrali- 
zation was  carried  to  the  neutral  point.  The  action  of  the  two 
alkalies  was  very  similar. 


170 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 


Table   32. — Showing   Neutralizing   Action  of  Lime  Water  and 
Sodium  Hydroxide. 


Neutralized 
with 

Original 
Acid 

% 

Acidity 
Reduced 

% 

Acidity    Remain- 
ing After  Heating 
to   145°    F. 

% 

Total  Acidity 
Reduced  to  Reach 
Neutral   Point 
% 

Sodium    hydrate, 
N/10  

.639 

393 

246 

624 

Calcium    hydrate, 
N/20  in  solution 

.659 

.448 

.221 

.625 

The  neutralizers  were  added  in  two  installments.  After  the 
first  addition  the  cream  was  heated  to  145°  F.  for  one  hour,  then 
enough  more  neutralizer  was  added  to  reduce  the  cream  to  the 
neutral  point. 

The  lesser  total  acidity  which  was  required  for  complete 
neutralization,  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  expulsion  of  carbon 
dioxide,  during  the  heating  process.  The  slight  decrease  in  the 
acidity  due  to  pasteurization  is  a  matter  of  common  experience. 
These  figures  show  a  slight  difference  in  the  total  neutralizing 
effect  between  the  sodium  hydroxide  and  the  lime  water.  This 
is  probably  caused  by  the  difference  in  dilution  of  the  neutralized 
cream,  the  greater  dilution  due  to  the  lime  water  facilitating  the 
recognition  of  the  end  point  in  the  titration. 

When  neutralization  is  not  carried  to  the  end  point,  or  neutral 
point,  the  distribution  of  the  Sodium  hydroxide  and  the  calcium 
hydrate  in  solution  differs  somewhat;  a  slightly  smaller  propor- 
tion of  the  remaining  acid  is  lactic  acid,  when  sodium  hydroxide 
is  used,  than  in  the  case  of  lime  water. 

This  difference  in  the  action  of  the  two  alkalies  is  materially 
augmented  when  milk  of  lime  (lime  hydrate  not  in  solution)  is 
used  in  the  place  of  lime  water.  This  is  shown  in  Table  33. 


NEUTRALIZATION  OP  SOUR  CREAM 


171 


Table  33. — Showing  Relative  Action  of  Sodium  Hydrate,  Lime 
Water  and  Milk  of  Lime  on  Acidity  in  Serum  of  Cream. 


Character 
of 
Neutralizer 

Original 
Acidity 
% 

Acidity  of 
Cream  After 
Neutralization 

Acidity   of 
Serum  After 
Neutralization 

Reduction 
of  Acidity 
in   Serum 

Sodium  hy- 
droxide     

.637 

.250 

.028x50% 

.323 

.637 

.250 

.028 

.323 

Lime  water.  .  . 

.637 

.250 

.034 

.317 

.637 

.?50 

.037 

.314 

Milk  of  lime.. 

.637 

.250 

.044 

.307 

.637 

.250 

.044 

.307 

The  figures  in  Table  33  show  that  when  neutralization  is 
not  carried  to  the  neutral  point,  adding  neutralizer  sufficient  only 
to  reduce  the  acidity  to  .25%  acid,  the  lime  water  (lime  in  so- 
lution) shows  somewhat  greater  preference  for  the  casein'  than 
for  the  serum  and  that  this  preference  for  the  casein  is  greatly 
augmented  in  the  case  of  milk  of  lime.  Both  the  lime  water  and 
the  milk  of  lime  showed  greater  preference  for  the  casein  than  did 
the  sodium  hydroxide,  hence  the  lime  neutralizers  had  less  alka- 
linity left  to  act  on  the  lactic  acid  in  the  serum,  and  reduced  the 
acidity  in  the  serum  to  a  lesser  extent  than  did  the  sodium  neu- 
tralizer. It  should  be  clearly  understood  here  that  this  difference 
of  distribution  of  the  neutralizing  action  between  sodium  hydrate 
and  calcium  hydrate  occurs  only  when  the  neutralization  is  not 
carried  to  the  neutral  point.  Tables  31  and  32  show  that  when 
neutralization  is  carried  to  the  neutral  point,  the  sodium  hydrate 
fully  neutralizes  both  the  lactic  acid  in  the  serum  and  the  acid 
in  the  casein.  This  fact  furnishes  reliable  proof  that  the  acid  test 
with  sodium  hydroxide  shows  the  total  acidity  in  cream,.  Its 
results  are,  therefore,  correct,  and  they  demonstrate  that  the 
incomplete  acid  reduction  of  the  lime  is  not  due  to  any  short- 
comings of  the  acid  test  of  the  cream,  but  must  be  due  to  the 
great  affinity  of  the  lime  for  the  casein  which  causes  the  me- 
chanical combination  of  particles  of  undissolved  lime  with 
particles  of  solid  casein,  thereby  mechanically  tying  up  a  portion 


172  NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 

of  the  lime  and  making  the  alkalinity  of  the  portion  of  the  lime, 
so  fixed,  unavailable  for  acid  reduction. 

Summary  of  Action  of  Lime  in  Sour  Cream. — Summing  up 
the  foregoing  discussion  concerning  the  action  of  lime  hydrate 
when  used  as  a  neutralizer  in  sour  cream,  the  following  points 
are  of  importance: 

(1)  When  a  sufficient  amount  of  lime  is  added  to  sour  cream 
to  theoretically  reduce  the  acidity  in  the  cream  to  .25%  acid, 
the  lime  fails  to  accomplish  the  full  extent  of  this  acid  reduction. 
About  16  to  20%  of  the  lime  does  not  react. 

(2)  This  delinquency  may  be  corrected  by  using  approxi- 
mately 20%i  more  lime  hydrate,  thus  making  the  lime  mix  about 
16%   stronger  than  required  theoretically,  or  by  using  instead 
of  calcium  lime,  magnesium  lime.     Magnesium  lime  containing 
from  35  to  50%>  magnesium  oxide  has  an  alkalinity  equivalent  in 
strength  to  approximately  116  to  120%  of  pure  calcium  lime. 

(3)  Lime  has  a  marked  affinity  for  casein.    The  absorption 
of  lime  By  the  casein  and  the  reduction  of  the  casein  acid  are 
greater  than  the  absorption  of  lime  by  the  serum  and  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  lactic  acid. 

(4)  When  neutralization  is  carried  to  the  neutral  point,  the 
distribution  of  the  neutralizing  action  in  the  components  of  cream 
— the  serum,  curd  and  fat — is  similar  with  sodium  hydrate  as  it 
is  with  lime  water. 

(5)  The  acid  test  of  the  cream  determines  the  total  acidity 
of  the  cream,  including  both  the  casein  acid  and  the  lactic  acid, 
It  yields,  therefore,  the  correct  per  cent  of  acid. 

(6)  The  deficiency  of  the  neutralizing  action  of  the  lime  is 
due  to  physical  and  mechanical  combination  between  portions 
of  insoluble  lime  and  the  curd.     The  fact  that  from  16  to  20% 
of  the  lime  does  not  react  in  the  cream  must  be  attributed  to  the, 
great  affinity  of  the  lime  for  casein,  particles  of  lime  adhering 
and  becoming  permanently  attached  to  particles  of  free  casein. 
In  this  condition  the  lime  so  held  is  unable  to  exert  its  full  neu- 
tralizing action. 

Adding  Lime  Mix  in  Proper  Manner. — It  is  not  enough  to 
use  the  right  strength  and  amount  of  lime.  The  lime  mix  must 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM  173 

be  handled  in  the  proper  manner,  after  it  is  made  up  and  before 
it  is  added,  otherwise  it  cannot  accomplish  that  for  which  it  is 
used.  Lime  settles  to  the  bottom  quickly,  hence  it  must  be  stirred 
thoroughly  before  use.  It  must  be  strained  and  diluted  with 
an  equal  volume  of  water  before  it  is  poured  into  the  cream  and 
it  must  be  sprinkled  over  the  entire  surface  of  the  cream  while 
the  cream  is  in  agitation.  Sediment  of  limy  curd  in  the  bottom 
of  the  forewarmer  or  vat  is  a  fairly  conclusive  proof  that  the  lime 
mix  was  not  added  as  it  should  have  been. 

In  order  to  secure  maximum  reaction  between  the  alkalinity 
of  the  lime  and  the  acid  in  the  cream,  the  neutralizer  must  be 
distributed  thinly  and  uniformly  throughout  the  entire  batch  of 
cream.  This  is  possible  only  when  the  lime  mix  is  reasonably 
diluted  before  it  is  poured  into  the  vat,  and  when  it  is  added,  not 
in  one  place,  but  over  the  entire  vat,  in  the  form  of  a  small 
stream,  or  a  spray,  and  while  the  cream  in  the  vat  is  vigorously 
agitated. 

If  the  full  strength  of  undiluted  lime  mix  is  "dumped"  into  the 
vat  all  in  one  place,  there  is  very  intense  action  on  the  curd,  a 
portion  of  the  lime  mechanically  combines  with  the  curd  and  fat, 
and  will  drop  to  the  bottom  of  the  vat  in  the  form  of  lumps.  In 
this  case  the  lime  so  fixed,  fails  to  yield  its  full  alkalinity  to  the 
serum  of  the  cream  and  the  acid  reduction  falls  short  of  that 
calculated  even  when  an  excess  of  16  to  20%  of  lime  is  used,  and 
accurate  results  from  such  procedure  need  not  be  expected. 
This  lack  of  proper  distribution  of  the  neutralizer  in  the  cream 
has  the  further  disadvantage  of  causing  excessive  loss  of  fat, 
the  lumps  of  limy  curd  in  the  bottom  of  the  vat  being  high  in 
fat  content. 

To  avoid  this,  the  lime  mix  should  be  diluted  with  an  equal 
volume  of  water  and  its  uniform  distribution  is  facilitated  by 
spraying  it  over  the  vigorously  agitated  cream,  from  a  flower 
sprinkling  can. 

Checking  Results  by  Retesting. — Finally,  if  the  operator  is 
to  do  continuously  accurate  and  reliable  work,  he  must  check 
his  work  by  retesting  the  cream  for  acid,  after  he  has  given 
the  neutralizer  the  proper  time  and  condition  for  full  action. 


174  NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 

Other  Factors  That  Cause  Irregularities  of  Results  of  Neu- 
tralization.— The  complexity  of  the  physical  and  chemical 
make-up  of  cream,  its  susceptibility  to  a  variety  of  changes  in 
composition,  which  are  largely  beyond  the  control  of  the  cream- 
ery, together  with  irregularities  in  the  preparation  and  use  of 
the  neutralizer  which  are  largely  due  to  the  personal  factor  of 
the  operator,  naturally  invite  frequent  fluctuations  in  the  results 
of  neutralization,  and  interfere  more  or  less  with  the  desired 
uniformity  and  accuracy  of  the  results.  Notwithstanding 
these  facts,  the  use  of  a  systematic  process  of  neutralization 
makes  possible  the  removal  of  excess  acid  and  the  reduction  of 
the  acidity  to  the  desired  point,  within  the  limits  of  not  to 
exceed  .05  per  cent  acid  above  or  below  that  desired.  It  en- 
ables the  creamery  to  secure  the  full  benefit  of  neutralization 
without  danger  of  overneutralization  and  its  detrimental  effect 
on  the  quality  of  the  finished  product. 

The  dominating  factors  which  cause  fluctuations  in  the  re- 
duction of  the  acidity  of  the  cream  by  neutralization  are  the 
original  per  cent  acid  in  the  cream  before  neutralization,  the 
per  cent  casein  in  the  cream,  the  amount  of  carbondioxide  in  the 
cream,  the  strength,  dilution  and  distribution  of  the  lime  mix 
when  added,  the  temperature  of  the  cream  and  the  time  allowed 
for  neutralization. 

Effect  of  Original  Per  Cent  Acid  in  Cream  Before  Neutral- 
ization on  Accuracy  of  Acid  Reduction. — It  has  been  shown 
that  in  the  neutralization  of  cream  of  average  acidity  (testing 
about  .60  to  .80  per  cent  acid),  a  portion  of  the  lime  (from  about 
16  to  20  per  cent)  does  not  react  and  that,  therefore,  lime  suffi- 
cient in  amount,  or  in  strength  to  be  equivalent  in  alkalinity  to  16 
to  20  per  cent  in  excess  of  that  required  to  theoretically  reduce 
the  acidity  to  the  desired  point  must  be  added.  It  was  further 
shown  that  this  loss  of  reaction  of  a  portion  of  the  lime  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  a  part  of  the  solid  particles  of  lime  mechanically 
combines  with  the  solid  particles  of  casein,  rendering  the  alka- 
linity of  the  lime  so  held  inaccessible  to  the  acid  in  the  cream. 

The  amount  of  lime  not  reacting  is,  therefore,  fairly  con- 
stant and  does  not  vary  greatly  with  the  acidity  of  the  cream. 
It  is  not  proportional  with  the  original  per  cent  acid  present 
in  the  cream.  Hence  in  very  high-acid  cream,  the  16  to  20  per 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM  175 

cent  excess  lime  added  will  tend  to  reduce  the  acidity  of  the 
cream  slightly  below  the  calculated  point,  while  in  cream  of 
relatively  low  original  acidity,  the  point  to  which  the  acidity 
drops  will  tend  to  be  slightly  above  the  calculated  point. 

Effect  of  Per  Cent  Casein  in  Cream  on  Accuracy  of  Acid 
Reduction. — Since  the  fact,  that  a  portion  of  the  lime  does  not 
react,  is  due  to  the  mechanical  tying-up  of  a  portion  of  the  lime 
with  the  casein,  the  amount  of  lime  not  reacting  must  of 
necessity  vary  with  the  per  cent  casein  in  the  cream,  and  this 
in  turn  is  largely  controlled  by  the  fat  content  of  the  cream. 
Generally  speaking,  the  ratio  of  solids  not  fat  to  water  in  cream 
is  the  same  as  that  in  milk,  hence  the  more  fat,  and  therefore, 
the  less  water  cream  contains,  the  lower  is  the  per  cent  of  solids 
not  fat  in  cream,  and  the  per  cent  curd,  being  a  non-fatty  con- 
stituent is  also  reduced  correspondingly.  The  following  Anal- 
ysis of  Cream,  by  Richmond,1  illustrates  this  point  clearly. 

Table  34. — Composition  of  Cream, 


Thick    Cream 
% 

Thm    Cream 

% 

Water    

3937 

63.94 

Fat   . 

5609 

29.29 

Sugar 

229 

347 

Protein  

1  57 

276 

Ash    

.38 

54 

99.70 

100.00 

The  above  analysis  shows  that  cream  testing  56.  per  cent 
fat  contained  only  1.57  per  cent  protein,  while  cream  testing  3(7. 
per  cent  fat  contained  2.76  per  cent  protein. 

The  smaller  curd  content  of  rich  cream,  therefore,  ties  up 
less  lime  than  the  larger  curd  content  of  thin  cream.  In  the 
case  of  rich  cream,  the  proportion  of  lime  not  reacting  with  the 
lactic  acid  is  less  than  in  thin  cream.  Hence  the  acidity  in  rich 
cream  is  reduced  to  a  slightly  lower  point  than  that  in  thin 
cream,  when  the  calculated  amount  of  lime  used  is  the  same 
for  both,  rich  and  thin  cream. 

1  Richmond  Dairy  Chemistry,  Second  Edition,  1914,  p.  266. 


176  NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 

Effect  of  Amount  of  Carbondioxide  in  Cream,  on  Accuracy 
of  Acid  Reduction. — When  determining  the  acidity  present  in 
cream  before  neutralization  by  titration  with  sodium  hydrox- 
ide, the  results  show  not  only  the  lactic  acid  and  the  casein 
acid  present,  but  also  the  carbondioxide  that  cream  may  contain. 
But  the  carbondioxide  escapes  during  pasteurization,  being  ex- 
pelled by  heat;  it,  therefore,  does  not  claim  the  alkalinity  of 
the  lime  added,  and  allows  this  alkalinity  to  further  reduce  the 
lactic  acid  and  casein  acid  of  the  cream. 

The  carbondioxide  content  of  cream  is  very  variable.  It 
is  largely  the  result  of  fermentation.  In  fresh  and  only  moder- 
ately sour  cream  it  is  very  slight,  while  in  highly  acid  cream 
and  especially  in  yeasty  cream,  it  may  be  relatively  great. 
Hence,  the  addition  of  the  amount  of  lime  calculated  to  reduce 
the  acidity  to  a  given  point  when  based  on  the  original  acid 
test  of  the  cream  before  neutralization  will,  in  the  case  of  high 
acid  and  fermented  cream,  drop  the  acidity  to  a  sligthly  lower 
point  than  that  calculated.  This  irregularity  is  somewhat  mini- 
mized by  the  heating  of  the  cream  in  the  forewarmer,  which 
expels  a  portion  of  the  carbondioxide  present  before  the  cream 
is  tested  for  its  original  acidity,  and  the  higher  the  temperature 
to  which  the  cream  is  heated  in  the  forewarmer,  the  more  of 
the  carbondioxide  is  liberated.  This  fact,  however,  should  not 
be  interpreted  to  mean  that  it  is  desirable  to  heat  the  sour 
cream  excessively  before  neutralization.  Such  a  practice  would 
in  part  forfeit  the  benefits  of  neutralization,  causing,  especially 
in  the  case  of  thin,  sour  cream,,  the  formation  of  an  abnormal 
curd,  with  excessive  loss  of  fat  and  the  danger  of  white  specks 
in  the  butter.  The  temperature  of  the  cream  before  neutral- 
ization, either  in  the  forewarmer  or  in  the  pasteurizing  vat, 
should  not  be  raised  above  90  degrees  F.,  if  these  defects  are 
to  be  avoided  in  a  dependable  manner  by  neutralization. 

Effect  of  Time  and  Temperature  on  Accuracy  of  Acid 
Reduction. — The  neutralizing  action  of  the  lime  is  Comparatively 
slow,  it  is  not  instantaneous.  The  acid  test  of  the  cream,  made 
immediately  after  neutralization,  does  not  show  the  full  neu- 
tralizing power  of  the  lime.  The  per  cent  acid  found  in  the 
cream  at  that  time  is  higher  than  the  calculated  per  cent  acid 


NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 


177 


to  which  the  cream  is  to  be  reduced.  Time  is  required  for  com- 
plete action.  Creameries  that  add  their  neutralizer  by  guess 
and  then  calculate  from  the  per  cent  acid  found  in  the  cream 
immediately  after  neutralization  the  additional  amount  of  lime 
needed  to  reduce  the  acidity  to  the  desired  point,  will  fail  to 
secure  uniform  results  and  may,  under  certain  conditions,  un- 
knowingly overneutralize  the  cream. 

Proper  dilution  and  distribution  of  the  lime  greatly  hasten 
the  action  of  the  lime  and  the  heat  of  pasteurization  assists  in 
completing  it.  The  following  table  may  serve  to  show  the  rate 
at  which  neutralization  progresses  from  the  time  the  lime  mixt 
properly  diluted,  is  added  to  the  cream,  when  the  temperature 
of  the  cream  at  the  time  of  neutralization  averages  about  90 
degrees  F. 


Table  35. — Showing  Progressive  Reduction  of  Acidity  in  Cream 
After  the  Addition  of  the  Neutralizer. 


Per  Cent  Acid  in  Cream 

After   Pasteur- 

Number  of   Batches 

Immediately 

ization  and 

of  Cream 

Before 

After 

Cooling;  2  to  3 

Neutralization 

Neutralization 

Hrs.  After 

Neutralization 

Averages  of  139  batches.. 

.658 

.295 

.251 

Averages  of  114  batches.. 

.755 

.291 

.243 

Averages  of  175  batches.. 

.729 

.369 

.270 

Averages  of  181  batches.. 

.740 

.362 

.275 

Averages  of    97  batches.. 

.553 

.303 

.256 

Averages  of  133  batches.. 

.653 

.363 

.256 

Averages  of    96  batches.  . 

.485 

.300 

.244 

Averages  of  228  batches.. 

.517 

.281 

.247 

Averages  of    76  batches.. 

.524 

.298 

.268 

Averages  of    93  batches  .  . 

.594 

.335 

.271 

Averages  of  140  batches.. 

.611 

.343 

.249 

Averages  of  1472  batches. 

.620 

.322 

.257 

Effect  of  Neutralization  on  the  Composition  of  Butter. — 

The  composition  of  butter  made  from  neutralized  cream  does 
not  appreciably  differ  from  that  made  of  unneutralized  cream. 
The  curd  content  of  butter  tends  to  be  slightly  reduced  as  the 


178  NEUTRALIZATION  OF  SOUR  CREAM 

result  of  neutralization.     Ramsay1  found  the  following  differ- 
ences in  curd  content. 

Butter  Made  From  Per  cent  Curd 

Unneutralized    Cream  1.28 

Cream  treated  with  Sodium   Bicarbonates 87 

Cream  treated  with  Calcium   Carbonate 72 

The  above  analyses  show  a  rather  unusually  high  per  cent 
of  curd  in  butter  made  from  both,  neutralized  and  unneutral- 
ized  cream.  When  butter  is  washed  properly  the  curd  content 
generally  averages  several  tenths  per  cent  lower.  However,  they 
are  valuable  because  they  show  the  relative  reduction  of  curd 
content  due  to  neutralization. 

The  decrease  in  the  curd  content  may  be  explained  by  the 
fact  that  the  neutralizer  causes  the  precipitated  curd  to  be 
firmer,  more  grainy  and  to  separate  more  completely  from  the 
serum.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  lime-neutralized  cream, 
but  even  sodium-neutralized  cream  has  a  firmer  curd  than  un- 
neutralized  cream.  In  this  firmer  condition  more  of  the  curd 
passes  into  the  buttermilk  and  less  is  taken  up  by  the  butter. 
AJ  similar  difference  is  noted  between  butter  made  from  sour 
and  sweet  cream.  In  sweet  cream,  the  curd  is  present  in  a 
more  colloid  condition  which  sticks  to  the  butter  particles  and 
causes  such  butter  to  have  a  higher  curd  content  than  sour 
cream  butter. 

The  butter  made  from  lime-neutralized  cream  contains 
slightly  more  calcium  than  butter  made  from  untreated  cream. 
Wichmann1  found  a  slight  increase  in  the  calcium  oxide  of  the 
salt-free  ash  of  neutralized  cream  butter,  as  well  as  in  the  butter 
itself,  and  he  claims  that  when  the  calcium  oxide  content  of 
butter  exceeds  .025  per  cent,  there  is  strong  indication  that  such 
butter  was  made  from  limed  cream,  provided  that  the  salt  added 
to  the  butter  did  not  contain  calcium  salts.  The  slight  increase 
in  the  calcium  oxide  of  lime-neutralized  butter  is  in  all  prob- 
ability due  to  the  calcium  attached  to  the  curd.  As  shown  in 
previous  paragraphs,  the  calcium  content  of  the  curd  increased 

1  Ramsay.  Note  on  Neutralization  of  Cream  in  Butter  Manufacture  and  the 
Effect  on  the  Butter  Produced.  New  South  Wales  Dept.  Agr.,  Science  Bulletin 
No.  16,  1915. 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  NEUTRALIZING  CREAM  179 

about  fivefold  when  lime  was  added  to  the  cream.  Wich- 
mann's  results,  however,  are  marred  by  the  fact  that  his  experi- 
ments seem  to  have  lacked  a  systematic  and  accurate  method  of 
neutralizing.  The  lime  was  apparently  added  by  guess  and  the 
acid  test  was  taken  immediately  after  neutralization,  so  that  the 
full  neutralizing  action  was  not  determined.  It  is  doubtful  that 
butter  made  from  lime-neutralized  cream  contains  enough  more 
calcium  oxide  to  reliably  detect  neutralization  by  chemical  anal- 
ysis. In  fact  such  butter  might,  under  certain  conditions,  con- 
tain no  more  or  even  less  lime  oxide  than  butter  made  from  un- 
treated cream,  depending  on  the  completeness  of  the  removal 
of  the  buttermilk,  which  in  turn  largely  depends  on  the  size  of 
the  butter  granules  when  the  churn  is  stopped  and  on  the 
thoroughness  of  washing  the  butter. 

SPECIFIC  DIRECTIONS  FOR  NEUTRALIZING  CREAM 
WITH    LIME    HYDRATE. 

1.  Secure     hydrated     lime     that    is     relatively    free     from 
carbonates. 

If  the  hydrated  lime  is  a  calcium  lime  (containing  but  little, 
not  over  five  per  cent  magnesium  oxide),  make  up  a  lime  mix 
or  milk  of  lime  by  using  2.4  pounds  of  the  dry  hydrated  lime  for 
every  gallon  of  mix. 

2.  If  the   hydrated   lime   is   a   magnesium   lime,   containing 
not  less  than  30  to  35  per  cent  magnesium  oxide,  make  up  a  lime 
mix  or  milk  of  lime  by  using  2  pounds  of  the  dry  hydrated  lime 
for  every  gallon  of  mix. 

3.  Magnesium  lime  is  more  satisfactory  than  calcium  lime. 

4.  For  making  up  lime  mix  in  small  quantities  use  a  ten- 
gallon   can,   add   24   pounds   of   calcium   lime   or   preferably   20 
pounds  of  magnesium  lime,  fill  half  full  of  water,  stir  until  the 
emulsion  is  complete,  then  fill  the  can  full  with  water  and  stir 
again.     This  now  represents  the  milk  of  lime,  or  lime  mix,  or 
lime   neutralizer.     Use  the  neutralizing  tables   for  determining 
the  correct  quantity  of  this  neutralizer  required  to  reduce  the 
acidity  in  the  cream  to  .25  per  cent. 


180  DIRECTIONS  FOR  NEUTRALIZING  CREAM 

5.  For  making  up  larger  quantities  of  lime  neutralizer,  use 
a  circular  tank  with  agitator,  similar  to  a  starter  can.     A  tank 
with  an  operating  capacity  of  say   100  gallons  may  be  found 
most  convenient.     Mark  the  level  at  which  the  tank  contains 
100  gallons.    This  is  readily  done  by  pouring  ten  10-gallon  cans 
full  of  water  into  it  and  punching  a  small  hole  into  the  side  of 
the  tank  at  a  point  level  with  the  surface  of  the  water. 

6.  Withdraw  half  of  the  water  and  weigh  into  the  tank  200 
pounds  of  dry  hydrated  magnesium  lime  or  240  pounds  of  dry 
hydrated  calcium  lime,  revolve  the  agitator  until  all  lumps  have 
disappeared  and  a  homogeneous  emulsion  is  secured.   Fill  up  the 
tank  with  water  to  the  100  gallon  mark  and  stir  again. 

A  lime  mix  tank  equipped  with  mechanical  agitator  which 
is  operated  by  belt  or  motor  power  is  much  preferable  to  one 
with  a  hand  agitator,  as  .it  obviates  the  laborious  work  of  hand 
stirring  and  insures  more  complete  homogenousness  of  the  mix. 

7.  Now  mix  the  milk  of  lime  in  the  lime  tank  thoroughly, 
giving  the  agitator  at  least  15  vigorous  turns  in  the  case  a  hand 
agitator  is  used.     Then    measure    out  with    a    gallon    measure 
graduated  to  half  pints  the  required  amount  of  neutralizer,  as 
indicated  in  the  neutralizing  table. 

8.  Strain  it  through  a  cheese  cloth  into  a  garden  sprinkling 
pot,  add  an  equal  amount  of  water  and  sprinkle  the  neutralizer 
over  the  cream  in  all  parts  of  the  vat. 

9.  Keep  the  cream  agitated  while  the  neutralizer  is  being 
added. 

10.  Always  make  sure  that  the  quantity  of  cream  and  the 
test  of  the  original  acid  present  are  correct,  that  the  milk  of 
lime   has   been   properly   mixed   before   removing  the   required 
amount  from  the  lime  mix  tank  and  that  the  neutralizer  is  prop- 
erly diluted  before  it  is  added  to  the  cream.  "  ';"' 

11.  It  is  advisable  to  not  heat  the  cream  much  above  90 
degrees  F.  before  the  neutralizer  is  added. 


PASTEURIZATION  181 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
PASTEURIZATION. 

Definition. — As  applied  to  buttermaking,  pasteurization  may 
be  denned  as  the  process  of  heating1  milk  or  cream  to  a  tem- 
perature capable  of  destroying  the  great  majority  of  bacteria 
and  other  ferments  contained  therein  and  of  cooling  quickly  to 
the  ripening  or  churning  temperature. 

In  proper  pasteurization  the  milk  or  cream  is  heated  to 
145  degrees  F.  and  held  at  that  temperature  for  at  least  twenty 
minutes  or  it  is  heated  to  from  176  to  185  degrees  F.  and  cooled 
without  holding.  Proper  pasteurization  may  also  embrace  any 
modification  of  the  above  relations  of  temperature  to  time  of  ex- 
posure that  is  equivalent  in  germ-killing  efficiency  to  the  above 
processes  and  has  otherwise  no  injurious  effect  on  the  flavor 
and  texture  of  butter.  If  the  cream  is  to  be  ripened  subse- 
quently, it  is  cooled  after  pasteurization  to  about  65  degrees  F. 
If  the  ripening  process  is  dispensed  with  the  cream  is  cooled 
after  pasteurization  to  the  churning  temperature  which  will  gen- 
erally vary  from  45  degrees  F.  to  60  degrees  F.,  according  to 
locality  and  season  of  year. 

Objects  of  Pasteurization. — Pasteurization  does  not  make 
possible  the  manufacture  of  fancy  butter  from  a  poor  grade  of 
cream,  but  it  does  help  the  creamery  to  minimize  the  injurious 
effect  of  contamination  of  milk  and  cream  with  diverse  types 
of  germ  life  and  ferments  injurious  to  the  quality  of  the  butter 
and  possibly  dangerous  to  the  health  and  life  of  the  consumer. 
Proper  pasteurization,  therefore,  improves  the  quality,  and  keep- 
ing properties  of  butter  and  makes  the  product  safe  for  consump- 
tion. Briefly,  the  chief  objects  of  pasteurization  of  cream  for  but- 
termaking are:  Improvement  of  flavor  of  butter,  better  keeping 
quality,  more  uniform  flavor  and  quality,  destruction  of  germs 
of  human  and  animal  diseases,  increase  of  economic  efficiency 
of  dairy  industry. 

Improvement  of  Flavor. — Proper  pasteurization  improves 
the  flavor  of  butter,  partly,  because  it  destroys  the  great  major- 
ity of  ferments  present  in  the  cream,  some  of  which  are  prone 
to  decompose  one  or  more  of  the  ingredients  of  butter,  produc- 


182  PASTEURIZATION 

ing  objectionable  flavors  and  odors  and  partly,  because  the  pas- 
teurizing heat  removes  from  the  cream  gases  and  volatile  and 
soluble  substances  which  possess  undesirable  odors. 

Experimental  results  conducted  at  various  experiment  sta- 
tions in  this  country  and  abroad  have  conclusively  demonstrated 
that  efficient  pasteurization  destroys  over  99  per  cent  of  the 
micro-organisms  present  in  the  cream.  The  type  of  micro-organ- 
ism most  damaging  to  the  quality  of  butter  is  the  liquefying 
bacteria — those  which  attack  the  proteins  and  fat, — and  certain 
species  of  yeast  and  molds.  Bacteriological  analyses  of  cream 
before  and  after  pasteurization  show  that  the  per  cent  decrease 
of  these  undesirable  germs  is  practically  the  same  as  that  of  the 
lactic  acid  bacteria. 

Pasteurization  expels  from  the  cream,  vapors  and  gases,  espe- 
cially carbondioxide  gas,  which  carry  with  them  objectionable 
volatile  substances  which  may  have  been  absorbed  mechanically 
or  which  have  developed  in  the  cream  due  to  bacterial  action. 
This  expulsion  is  further  facilitated  by  the  reduced  viscosity  of 
the  hot  pasteurized  cream.  Gases  are  less  soluble  and  more 
volatile  at  high  temperatures,  therefore  they  escape  more  read- 
ily from  pasteurized  cream.  In  raw  cream  they  tend  to  go  in 
solution,  they  remain  in  the  cream  and  may  be  carried  into  the 
butter. 

Soluble  decomposition  products,  such  as  may  be  present  in 
cream  that  has  yielded  to  fermentation,  are  more  easily  expel- 
led from  the  cream  and  butter  made  from  pasteurized  cream 
than  from  raw  cream.  The  clusters  of  fat  globules  break  up, 
and  offer  a  greater  surface  for  the  liberation  of  these  biprod- 
ucts.  Some  of  these  products  as  well  as  the  curd,  that  harbor 
faulty  odors,  are  precipitated  more  completely  by  pasteurization 
and  in  this  condition  pass  off  in  the  buttermilk.  The  curd  con- 
tracts and  squeezes  out  soluble  substances,  so  that  part  of 
the  curd  which  subsequently  does  become  a  part  of  the  butter 
is  freer  from  these  undesirable,  soluble  bi-products. 

Improves  Keeping  Quality. — Since  certain  species  of  bac- 
teria, yeast  and  molds  that  may  be  present  in  the  cream,  cause 
deterioration  of  the  butter  in  storage,  the  elimination  of  these 


PASTEURIZATION  183 

micro-organisms  retards  such  deterioration  and  improves  the 
keeping  quality  of  the  butter.  High  temperature  pasteurization 
also  destroys  the  activity  of  enzymes,  some  of  which  are  capable 
of  decomposing  one  or  more  of  the  constituents  of  butter,  shorten- 
ing its  life.  The  destruction  of  their  activity,  therefore,  furnishes 
additional  protection  against  deterioration  of  butter  with  age. 

At  best  the  great  bulk  of  butter  is  several  weeks  old  before 
it  reaches  the  pantry  of  the  consumer,  and  during  this  time  it 
is  often  exposed  to  unfavorable  temperature  conditions  which 
stimulate  bacterial  and  enzyme  action.  Large  quantities  of  but- 
ter are  also  stored  for  a  considerable  length  of  time  for  the  pur- 
pose of  holding  it  over  from  summer,  the  time  of  surplus,  till 
winter,  the  period  of  usual  shortage.  It  is,  therefore,  of  great 
economic  importance  that  the  butter  have  sufficient  keeping 
properties  to  successfully  withstand  the  deteriorating  influences 
of  age. 

Produces  Greater  Uniformity  of  Quality. — Uniformity  of 
flavor  and  quality  are  essential  requisites  for  the  successful 
marketing  of  butter.  The  consumer  demands  that  the  butter  on 
his  table  be  of  uniform  quality.  With  intelligent  pasteurization 
the  fermentations  in  the  cream  and  butter  can  be  more  readily 
controlled,  thus  insuring  greater  uniformity  of  the  resulting 
flavor  of  the  butter  of  different  churnings.  Instead  of  being 
constantly  and  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  conditions  to  which 
the  cream  is  exposed  on  the  farm  and  in  transportation,  the 
buttermaker,  by  means  of  efficient  pasteurization,  is  able  to 
modify  the  variable  bacterial  flora  in  cream,  eliminating  un- 
desirable ferments  and  thereby  producing  a  butter  of  greater 
uniformity  in  flavor  and  quality. 

Where  it  is  desired  to  ripen  the  cream,  pasteurization  assists 
in  confining  the  ripening  process  to  the  fermentations  which  are 
desired  and  to  the  exclusion  of  fermentations  of  known  inju- 
rious effect. 

Destroys  Disease  Germs. — Pasteurization,  when*  properly 
executed,  also  frees  the  cream,  buttermilk  and  butter  from  germs 
of  human  and  animal  diseases,  thus  making  the  butter  safer  for 
human  consumption,  raising  the  standard  of  safety  and  whole- 
someness  of  the  product  in  the  eyes  of  the  public  and  protect- 


184  PASTEURIZATION 

ing  the  livestock  interests  of  the  country  against  the  spread  of 
infectious  diseases  among  young  stock  and  hogs  fed  on  skim 
milk  and  buttermilk  returned  to  the  farm. 

Increases  Economic  Efficiency  of  Dairy  Industry. — For  the 

reasons  above  indicated,  pasteurization  has  distinct  economic 
value.  Through  improving  the  flavor  and  keeping  quality  of 
butter,  pasteurization  stimulates  the  appetite  and  demand  for 
butter;  it  assists  the  creamery  in  securing  a  satisfactory  price 
for  its  product  and  protects  it  against  heavy  losses  caused  by 
the  development  of  costly  defects  of  butter  made  from  contam- 
inated raw  cream.  The  increased  demand  for  the  improved 
product,  accompanied  by  better  prices,  and  the  elimination  of 
serious  loss  due  to  specific  butter  defects,  in  turn,  enable  the 
creamery  to  offer  to  the  farmer  maximum  prices  for  his  butter 
fat,  to  increase  his  profits  and  thereby  to  stimulate  the  produc- 
tion of  milk  and  cream,  and  indirectly  to  improve  the  fertility 
of  the  soil. 

Through  destruction  of  disease  germs  pasteurization  safe- 
guards the  physical  welfare  of  the  consumer  and  minimizes  the 
danger  of  heavy  losses  of  livestock  due  to  epizootics  resulting 
from  the  feeding  of  infected  cream-cry  bi-products  to  farm 
animals. 

The  improved  quality  of  butter  made  from  pasteurized  cream 
and  the  guarantee  which  such  butter  offers  the  consumer,  as  a 
product  wholesome  and  free  from  germs  of  disease,  are  the  most 
forceful  weapons  the  dairy  industry  possesses  in  its  never-end- 
ing struggle  against  competition  with  foreign  butter  and  butter 
substitutes  at  home,  and  in  its  efforts  to  establish  permanent  and 
satisfactory  markets  abroad. 

Essential  Conditions  for  Successful  Pasteurization, — Many 
butter  buyers  are  looking  upon  butter  made  from  pasteurized 
cream  with  disfavor,  claiming  that  such  butter  lacks  the  desired 
flavor,  open  grain  and  "live"  body  of  raw  cream  butter.  And  it  is 
a  fact  that  some  butter  made  from  pasteurized  cream  has  marked 
defects  in  flavor  and  in  body.  In  the  great  majority  of  these 


PASTEURIZATION  1&5 

cases  the  cause,  however,  lies  in  the  improper  and  faulty  appli- 
cation of  pasteurization.  These  criticisms  should  not  be  inter- 
pretated  as  a  condemnation  of  the  principle  of  pasteurization, 
they  refer  only  to  the  faulty  use  of  a  beneficial  process.  Butter 
made  from  properly  pasteurized  cream  does  not  harbor  these 
defects  and  is  not  subject  to  these  criticisms. 

In  order  to  apply  the  process  of  pasteurization  so  as  to  ac- 
complish its  helpful  objects  and  to  guard  against  undesirable 
results,  the  creamery  must  use  efficient  equipment  of  adequate 
capacity  and  kept  in  sanitary  condition,  it  must  have  a  sufficient 
and  constant  supply  of  heating  and  cooling  media  for  rapid  heat- 
ing and  cooling  and  for  effective  temperature  control  and,  above 
all,  the  process  must  be  supervised  by  a  competent  operator 
whose  experience,  knowledge  and  judgment  enable  him  to  prop- 
erly prepare  the  cream  for,  and  to  conduct,  the  process  in  an 
intelligent  and  efficient  manner. 

Methods  of  Pasteurization. — There  are  in  use  at  the  present 
time  fundamentally  three  methods  of  pasteurizing  cream  for 
buttermaking.  These  are  the  flash  or  continuous  method,  the  vat 
or  holding  method  and  the  combined  flash  and  holding  method. 

In  the  flash  or  continuous  process  of  pasteurization  the 
cream  flows  through  the  pasteurizer  in  a  continuous  stream,  is 
heated  from  176  to  185  degrees  F.  and  then  immediately  cooled  to 
the  ripening  temperature,  or  the  churning  temperature. 

In  the  vat  or  holding  method  of  pasteurization  the  cream 
is  heated  in  a  vat  with  agitator  to  a  temperature  of  about  145 
degrees  F.,  then  held  at  that  temperature  for  twenty  to  thirty 

minutes  and  cooled  to  the  ripening  or  churning  temperature. 
*    » 

In  the  combined  flash  and  holding  method  of  pasteurization 
the  cream  flows  through  a  continuous  pasteurizer,  is  heated  to 
a  temperature  ranging  from  about  150  to  170  degrees  F.  and 
is  held  in  a  vat  at  the  above  or  at 'lower  temperatures  for  from 
ten  to  thirty  minutes,  after  which  it  is  cooled  to  the  ripening  or 
churning  temperature. 


186 


PASTEURIZATION 


FLASH    OR    CONTINUOUS    METHOD    OF    PASTEUR- 
IZATION. 

Flash  Pasteurizers. — The  following  is  a  list  of  some  of  the 
more  popular  flash  or  continuous  pasteurizers  and  coolers  now 
in  use  in  American  creameries: 

f  Jensen  old  style 

r ~,     .  .     .        ,     \  Jensen  sanitary 

Stationary  jacketed        -L 

^  Peerless 

Simplex  centrifugal 
(^Eclipse 


Continuous 
pasteurizers 


drum  with  revolv-: 
ing  agitator 


Regenerative  with 
revolving  drum 


Revolving  discs 


Jensen  sanitary  pas- 
teurizer, regenera- 
tor and  cooler 

Progress  regenera- 
tive 

Simplex  regenerative 


f  Farrington 
•s  Farrington  Jr. 
^Miller  Tyson 


Fig*.  22.     Jensen  flash  pasteurizer 
Courtesy  J.   G.  Cherry  Co. 


Tig.  23.     Peerless  flash  pasteurizer 

Courtesy  J.   G.  Cherry  Co. 


PASTEURIZATION  187 

Principal  Features  of  Diferent  Types  of  Flash  Pasteur- 
izers.— The  flash,  or  continuous  pasteurizers  are  principally  of 
three  types.  1.  Those  consisting  of  a  hollow  drum,  equipped 
with  a  revolving  agitator  and  surrounded  by  a  heating  jacket. 
2.  Those  consisting  of  two  hollow  drums,  the  smaller  rotating 
inside  the  larger  one  and  with  the  heating  or  cooling  medium 
circulating  in  the  inner  drum  and  in  the  jacket  surrounding  the 
outer  drum,  while  the  cream  passes  in  a  thin  film  between  the 
heating  surfaces  of  the  two  drums.  The  latter  are  frequently 
of  the  regenerative  type.  3.  Those  consisting  of  compartments 
equipped  with  revolving  discs  which  heat  the  cream  while  it 
flows  through  the  compartment.  This  type  of  pasteurizers 
usually,  though  not  always,  contains  also  compartments  for  cool- 
ing the  heated  cream. 

Some  creameries  use  two  flash  pasteurizers,  connected  tan- 
dem fashion,  in  the  place  of  one.  The  machines  are  frequently 
installed  at  different  elevations.  In  the  lower  machine  the  cream 
is  heated  to  about  135  degrees  F.  and  in  the  upper  machine  to 
about  180  degrees  F.  The  cream  flows  from  the  lower  to  the 
upper  machine  and  these  pasteurizers  may  be  so  connected 
that  the  first  or  lower  machine  is  heated  by  the  exhaust  steam  of 
the  upper  or  second  machine,  or  each  machine  may  be  heated 
with  direct  steam  in  which  case  they  are  generally  installed  side 
by  side  on  the  same  level.  This  double  system  of  flash  pasteur- 
ization, when  properly  operated,  helps  to  insure  thoroughness 
of  heating. 

All  of  the  flash  pasteurizers  with  closed  drums  have  the 
power  of  elevating  the  cream,  making  unnecessary  the  use  of 
pumps  to  convey  the  pasteurized  cream  over  the  coolers  or  into 
the  vats. 

Some  of  the  flash  pasteurizers  do  part  cooling  of  the  heated 
cream,  while  the  remainder  are  heaters  only  and  require  sepa- 
rate coolers.  For  this  purpose  surface  coil  coolers  are  most 
generally  installed.  Frequently  the  surface  cooler  is  done 
away  with  and  internal  tube  coolers  or  other  coolers  are  used, 
or  the  heated  cream  may  flow  direct  from  the  flash  pasteurizer 
into  the  ripening  vat  where  it  is  cooled  by  the  revolving  coil. 


188 


PASTEURIZATION 


Regenerative  Heaters  and  Coolers. — Some  of  the  heaters 
and  coolers  are  arranged  on  what  is  known  as  the  regenerative 
principle.  The  inflowing  cold  cream  is  heated  by  the  hot  cream 
passing  from  the  pasteurizer,  and  the  outflowing  hot  cream  is 
cooled  by  the  cold  cream  flowing  to  the  pasteurizer.  The  hot 

and  cold  cream  tend 
to  equalize  their  re- 
spective temperatures 
by  passing  in  counter- 
current  directions, 
M  a  n  u  f  a  c  turers  of 
these  coolers  claim 
that  the  regenerative 
principle  effects  a  sav- 
ing of  heat  and  cold 
amounting  to  25  to  35 
per  cent  of  the  fuel 
needed. 

Construction      of 
Flash    Pasteurizers. — 

Most  of  the  contin- 
uous pasteurizers  are 
constructed  of  copper 
with  heavily  tinned 
heating  surface.  Some  of  these  pasteurizers  are  lined  with  Ger- 
man silver.  From  the  standpoint  of  heat  conductivity  there  is 
little  choice  between  the  two  metals.  Their  efficiency  is  prac- 
tically equally  high.  The  German  silver  has  the  advantage  of 
preserving  the  brightness  of  its  surface.  In  the  copper-lined 
machine  the  tin  coating  soon  wears  off.  This,  however,  is  no 
serious  objection  as  long  as  the  copper  surface  is  kept  bright  and 
no  verdigris  is  permitted  to  form. 

The  details  of  construction  and  of  power  transmission  vary 
somewhat  with  the  different  types  and  makes  of  flash  pasteur- 
izers. Their  descriptions  are  usually  furnished  by  the  respective 
manufacturers  of  the  machines. 

In  the  installation  of  flash  pasteurizers  the  directions  for 
the  same,  which  accompany  the  machines,  should  be  carefully 


Tig.  24.     Simplex  regeneration  pasteurizer 
Courtesy  D.  H.  Burrell  &  Co. 


PASTEURIZATION 


189 


followed.  The  cream  connections,  especially  those  for  the  heat- 
ed cream,  should  be  of  such  type  as  to  reduce  the  friction  of 
the  cream  and  consequently  the  mutilation  of  the  fat  globules, 
to  the  minimum.  Sharp  bends  should  be  eliminated  as  much 
as  possible,  and  where  they  are  unavoidable,  they  should  be 
equipped  with  rounded  sanitary  couplings  in  preference  to  T's 


Fig-.  25  Fig1.  26 

Jensen  universal  pasteurizer 

Courtesy  Jensen  Creamery  Machinery  Co. 

and  crosses.  The  entire  system  should  be  composed  of  stand- 
ard sanitary  pipes,  valves  and  fittings.  The  straight  pipes 
should  be  equipped  with  sanitary  unions  at  intervals  of  6  to  8 
feet,  so  as  to  facilitate  their  dissembling,  cleaning  and  reas- 
sembling. 

Operation  of  Flash  Pasteurizers. — In  the  case  of  sweet 
cream,  such  as  is  available  in  wholemilk  creameries,  the  cream 
needs  no  special  preparation  for  pasteurization.  It  is  run  through 
the  pasteurizer  direct  from  the  receiving  vat. 

When  cream  arrives  at  the  creamery  in  thick,  lumpy  or 
sour  condition  or  is  otherwise  in  unsatisfactory  physical  con- 
dition, as  is  the  case  in  many  of  the  gathered  cream  creameries, 
it  is  not  only  desirable  but  very  necessary  to  warm  it  to  about 
90  degrees  F.  and  agitate  it  until  it  is  uniform  in  consistency 
and  reasonably  smooth.  This  is  best  done  by  the  use  of  a 
forewarmer.  The  usual  type  of  forewarmer  is  a  plain,  tinned  gal- 


190 


PASTEURIZATION 


vanized  iron  or  tinned  copper  vat  equipped  with  a  revolving 
copper  coil  or  disc,  through  which  hot  water  is  circulated  to 
raise  the  temperature  of  the  cream.  The  forewarmer  should  be 
preferably  of  "low-down"  construction  so  as  to  facilitate  the 
"dumping"  of  the  cans. 

If  the  cream  consists  of  part  sweet  and  part  sour  cream  or 
if  the  acidity  of  different  lots  of  cream  in  the  forewarmer  differs 
materially,  it  is  advisable  to  hold  it  in  the  forewarmer  for  about 
thirty  minutes  or  longer,  to  make  the  entire  batch  uniform  in 
acidity.  If  this  is  not  done  a  tough,  rubbery  curd  is  prone  to 
form  in  the  pasteurizer,  which  clogs  the  machine  and  the  strain- 
ers and  causes  excessive  loss  of  fat  in  the  buttermilk. 

The  formation  of  this  curd  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  acid 
in  the  sour  cream  acts  intensely  on  the  curd  in  the  less  sour 
or  sweet  cream  in  the  presence  of  pasteurizing  heat.  This  can 
be  avoided  by  holding  the  mixed  cream  in  the  forewarmer  long 
enough  to  allow  the  acid  in  the  sour  cream  to  act  on  the  curd, 
in  the  sweet  cream  at  about  90  degrees  F.  At  this  temperature 
this  action  is  less  intense  and  the  curd  precipitates  in  the  usual 
and  normal  way. 


Tig.  27.     Parringrton  Junior  pasteurizer 
Courtesy  Creamery  Package  Mfg.  Co, 


PASTEURIZATION  191 

If  the  mixed  cream  is  neutralized  in  the  forewarmer,  as  is 
done  in  most  creameries  receiving  sour  cream,  the  danger  of 
abnormal  curd  formation  is  removed,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to 
hold  the  cream  in  the  forewarmer  after  neutralization.  In  case 
the  cream  is  neutralized  it  is  desirable  to  use  two  or  more  fore- 
warmers  of  suitable  capacity,  usually  holding  250  to  300  gal- 
lons, so  that,  while  one  forewarmer  is  being  filled,  the  cream 
in  the  other  may  be  neutralized  and  passed  through  the  pasteur- 
izer. The  use  of  numerous  forewarmers  has  the  advantage  of 
speeding  up  the  work,  increasing  the  capacity  of  the  plant  and 
assisting  the  continuity  of  operation  of  the  pasteurizer. 

Thin,  sour  cream  is  prone  to  suffer  more  intense  curdling 
action,  to  cause  more  difficulty  in  the  pasteurizer  and  to  produce 
greater  loss  of  fat  in  the  buttermilk,  than  cream  of  reason- 
able richness,  testing  30  to  35  per  cent  fat,  and  averaging  about 
33  per  cent  fat.  Excessively  rich  cream,  while  desirable  from 
the  standpoint  of  economizing  vat  and  churn  space,  is  objection- 
able, because  it  is  deficient  in  milk  solids  not  fat,  which  are 
necessary  to  protect  the  fat  globules  against  mutilation  in  the 
pasteurizer.  Such  cream,  when  pasteurized  is  apt  to  yield  but- 
ter with  a  greasy  or  salvy  body  and  an  oily  flavor,  which  may 
later  develop  into  other  and  more  damaging  off-flavors,  such  as 
metallic  and  fishy  flavor. 

It  is  advisable  to  standardize  all  cream  in  the  forewarmer 
for  fat  to  about  33  per  cent  fat,  and  for  acid  to  about  .25  per 
cent  acid.  Dilution  of  the  cream  with  water,  such  as  occurs 
when  the  cream  cans  and  the  vats  are  rinsed  with  water,  or 
when  the  standardizing  of  rich  cream  is  done  with  water, 
should  be  avoided,  because  such  dilution  lowers  the  per  cent 
of  non-fatty  constituents  in  the  cream.  The  cans  should  be 
freed  from  the  remnants  of  cream  by  inverting  them  over  a 
steam  jet,  (see  paragraph  on  Can  Washing,  Chapter  IV,)  and  the 
standardizing  of  rich  cream  for  fat  should  be  done  with  sweet 
milk  or  skim  milk  or  redissolved  skim  milk  powder.  For  stand- 
ardizing the  acidity,  see  Chapter  VII  on  Neutralization  of  Sour 
Cream. 

The  flash  pasteurizer  should  be  set  high  enough  to  make 
unnecessary  excessive  elevation  of  the  cream  by  the  pasteur- 
izer. The  greater  the  elevation  to  which  the  pasteurizer  must 


192  PASTEURIZATION 

raise  the  cream,  the  faster  must  be  the  speed  of  the  pasteur- 
izer. This  high  speed  tends  to  cause  the  liquid  fat  globules 
at  the  high  pasteurizing  temperature  to  become  distorted,  dis- 
turbing the  thin  surface  layer  of  adsorbed  concentrated  serum, 
which  protects  them,  and  exposing  a  larger  surface  of  the  fat 
to  objectionable  influences,  such  as  the  oxidizing  action  of 
light,  air,  heat  and  metals.  Excessive  speed  therefore  may, 
under  certain  conditions,  result  in  serious  butter  defects. 

For  tfre  same  reason  it  is  undesirable  also  to  try  to  force 
more  cream  through  the  pasteurizer  than  its  rated  capacity. 
The  amount  of  cream  the  pasteurizer  is  capable  of  taking  care 
of  depends  on  the  speed  of  the  agitator.  The  higher  the  speed 
of  the  agitator  the  more  cream  can  be  made  to  pass  through 
the  machine  in  a  given  length  of  time.  The  flash  pasteurizers 
are  usually  furnished  with  specific  directions  as  to  capacity  per 
hour  and  speed  of  agitator  or  revolving  drum,  needed  to  yield 
the  rated  capacity.  It  is  unwise  to  force  more  cream  through 
the  machine  than  the  rated  capacity  and  speed  call  for,  by 
speeding  up  the  agitator.  If  faster  work  is  desired,  the  instal- 
lation of  a  larger  machine,  or  an  additional  machine,  will 
accomplish  the  purpose  without  injury  to  the  butter  fat.  Forc- 
ing the  machine,  aside  from  its  unfavorable  effect  on  the  fat 
globules,  also  usually  diminishes  the  pasteurizing  efficiency. 

Temperature  Control. — In  all  flash  or  continuous  pasteur- 
izers the  regulation  of  the  temperature  needs  constant  atten- 
tion in  order  to  make  possible  uniform  heating  of  all  the 
cream  that  flows  through  the  pasteurizer.  Unless  the  operator 
supervises  the  operation  of  the  pasteurizer  from  start  to 
finish,  reliable  results  need  not  and  should  not  be  expected. 
The  ease  of  temperature  control  varies  widely  with  different 
makes  of  machines,  as  well  as  with  such  ever-varying  factors 
as  temperature  of  the  cream  in  the  forewarmer,  mechanical  con- 
dition of  the  cream,,  uniformity  of  cream  inflow,  uniformity  of 
steam  supply  and  uniformity  of  speed  of  cream  pump  and 
pasteurizer. 

In  order  to  make  possible  and  to  facilitate  temperature  con- 
trol, the  cream  in  the  forewarmer  must  have  a  constant  tenv 
perature,  preferably  about  90  degrees  F.,  the  cream  pump  feed- 


PASTEURIZATION 


193 


ing  the  pasteurizer  must  run  at  a  uniform  speed,  the  cream 
supply  pipe  must  be  equipped  with  a  suitable  valve  regulat- 
ing the  inflow,  preferably  an  automatic  regulator  such  as  a  float- 
ing ball  device,  the  steam  pressure  must  be  uniform  and  the 
pasteurizer  must  run  at  a  uniform  speed.  In  order  to  make 
possible  a  uniform  supply  of  cream,  the  cream  must  also  be  in 
satisfactory  mechanical  condition,  it  must  have  a  smooth  body. 


An  Au"fom<rfiG  System  of 
Temperature  Control 


Fig1.  28.     Automatic  temperature  control 

Courtesy  C.  J.  Tagliabue  Mfg.  Co. 

Lumpy   cream   makes   the   flow   irregular,   tending  to   clog  the 
valve   at   times. 

The  installation  and  use  of  a  properly  operating  thermo- 
stat or  heat  controller  is  a  great  help  in,  and  is  practically  in- 
dispensable for  regulating  the  steam  pressure  and  thereby  con- 
trolling the  temperature  of  the  cream.  All  pasteurizers  should 
be  equipped  with  a  high-grade  steam  gauge,  installed  between 
the  steam  valve  and  the  pasteurizer,  and  in  the  absence  of  a 
thermostat,  a  pop-off  valve,  set  for  the  steam  pressure  de- 
sired, should  be  fitted  in  the  steam  pipe,  between  the  valve  and 


194  PASTEURIZATION 

the  pasteurizer.  This  will  guard  against  excessive  heating 
and  excessive  steam  pressure,  which  might  jeopardize  the 
machine. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  pasteurizing  process  some  cream  is 
almost  sure  to  pass  through  the  pasteurizer  at  a  temperature 
lower  than  that  required.  If  the  system  of  pasteurization  prac- 
ticed, involves  the  running  of  the  hot  cream  direct  into  the  vat 
where  it  is  held  for  some  time,  before  it  is  cooled,  all  the  cream 
has  a  chance  to  become  heated  to  the  proper  temperature  and  no 
material  decline  in  the  germ-killing  efficiency  of  such  pasteur- 
ization is  likely  to  occur,  even  if  a  small  portion  of  the  cream  did 
pass  through  the  pasteurizer  at  too  low  a  temperature. 

But  if,  as  is  usually  the  case,  the  cream  passes  from  the 
pasteurizer  over  an  instantaneous  cooler  and  reaches  the  vat 
cool,  then  the  escape  from  the  pasteurizer  of  incompletely 
heated  cream  becomes  a  serious  menace  to  the  quality  of  the 
resulting  butter.  This  danger  can  readily  be  avoided  by  instal- 
ling, between  the  pasteurizer  and  the  cooler,  a  by-pass,  through 
which  the  first  cream  pasteurized  and  any  other  portion  of  the 
cream  that  fails  to  be  heated  to  the  desired  temperature,  can 
be  automatically  returned  to  the  pasteurizer  and  run  through 
again.  When  the  pasteurizer  is  first  started  up,  therefore, 
all  cream  should  be  by-passed  until  the  desired  temperature 
is  reached  and  is  permanently  maintained. 

Automatic  Temperature  Recorders. — The  installation  and 
use  of  an  automatic  temperature  recorder  is  of  additional, 
valuable  help  to  insure  reliable  temperature  control.  By  its 
use  a  permanent  record  is  produced  which  shows  the  exact 
temperature  of  pasteurization  during  the  entire  process.  The 
superintendent  in  charge  should  examine  these  records  daily, 
and  caution  the  operator  when  the  records  disclose  irregular- 
ities. The  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  operator  that  his 
work  is  thus  permanently  recorded  and  the  records  checked 
daily,  exerts  a  good  moral  effect  on  the  operator.  He  realizes, 
that  unless  he  performs  his  duty  properly,  the  record  is  unsatis- 
factory and  that  carelessness  is  thus  immediately  detected. 

Cooling  Cream  from  Flash  Pasteurizer. — The  hot  cream 
flowing  from  the  pasteurizer  is  either  passed  over  a  surface 
coil  cooler,  regenerative  or  otherwise,  or  through  an  internal 


PASTEURIZATION 


195 


tube  cooler,  a  disc  continuous  cooler,  an  inclosed  drum 
cooler,  or  a  combination  of  two  or  more  of  these  devices, 
or  it  flows  direct  into  a  ripening  vat  where  the  cooling  is 
done  with  a  revolving  coil  or  disc.  It  is  advisable  to  cool 


Fig*.  29.     Surface  coil  cooler 
Courtesy  J.  G.  Cherry  Co. 


PigT.  30.    Jensen  regenerative  cooler 
Courtesy  Jensen  Cry.  Mach.  Co. 


the  cream  as  quickly  as  possible  to  about  70  degrees  F.  or  below. 
In  most  creameries  this  can  be  accomplished  by  the  use  of  the 
available  water  and  further  cooling  to  the  churning  temperature 
is  done  with  brine. 

Surface  coolers  have  the  advantage  of  speed  in  reducing  the 
temperature  and  of  freely  permitting  the  gases  in  the  cream  to 
escape.  This  is  especially  desirable  in  the  case  of  cream  tainted 


196  PASTEURIZATION 

with  objectionable  flavors  and  odors,  such  as  may  be  derived 
from  weeds,  wild  onions,  etc.,  or  from  undesirable  fermentations 
of  the  cream  prior  to  pasteurization. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  some  serious  objections  to  the 
use  of  surface  coolers.  There  is  a  tendency  to  recontaminate  the 
cream,.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  an  ill-ventilated  factory 
where  the  air  is  teeming  with  undesirable  germ  life  and  odors. 
Again  the  exposure  of  the  hot  cream  to  air  and  light,  while  run- 
ning over  the  copper  surface  cooler,  invites  oxidation  of  some  of 
the  components  of  the  cream  which  may  lead  to  serious  butter 
defects,  such  as  tallowy,  metallic  or  fishy  flavor,  etc.  For  this 
reason  this  type  of  cooler  cannot  be  recommended ;  coolers  which 
do  not  expose  the  hot  cream  excessively  to  air  and  light  are 
preferable. 

VAT  PASTEURIZATION 

Vat  Pasteurizers. — The  vat  pasteurizers  on  the  market  are 
of  two  general  types,  namely  jacketed  vats  with  plain  agitators 
and  non-jacketed  vats  with  hollow  disc  or  coil  agitators.  In 
the  jacketed  vats  and  tanks,  with  plain  agitators  the  inside 
wall  of  the  jacket  surrounding  the  vat  furnishes  the  heating 
surface.  The  jacket  is  charged  with  a  continuous  flow  of  the 
heating  or  cooling  medium,  or  the  heating  or  cooling  medium 
is  sprayed  against  the  outside  of  the  heating  surface.  The  cream 


Fig*.  31.     Progress  vat  pasteurizer 

Courtesy  Davis- Watkins  Dairymen's  Mfg.   Co. 


PASTEURIZATION  197 

is  agitated  by  means  of  a  series  of  blades  moving  lengthwise 
back  and  forth,  or  in  the  case  of  round  tanks  by  a  vertical, 
rotating  agitator. 

The  other  type  of  vat  pasteurizers  consists  of  the  most 
modern  types  of  cream  ripeners  equipped  with  horizontal  or  verti- 
cal revolving  discs  or  coils  which  carry  both  the  heating  and  the 
cooling  medium.  This  is  the  most  widely  used  type  of  vat  pas- 
teurizer. The  revolving  discs  have  now  been  largely  replaced 
by  the  revolving  coils,  as  the  strain  of  steam,  water  and  brine 
pressure  and  the  wide  range  of  temperature  proved  too  great 
a  tax  on  the  discs. 


Fig*.  32.    Jensen  vat  pasteurizer 
.    . .  Courtesy  J.  G.  Cherry  Co. 

The  coils  in  the  vat  pasteurizers  vary  somewhat  in  con- 
struction, principle  of  feed  and  size,  with  different  makes  of 
manufacture. 

In  some  vats  of  large  size  there  are  two  coils  side  by  side. 
This  makes  possible  the  placing  of  the  coils  low  down  without 
curtailing  heating  surface.  This  principle  has  the  advantage 
of  keeping  the  coils  submerged  in  the  cream,  which  is  desirable, 
because  it  minimizes  the  beating  of  air  into  the  cream,  thereby 
avoiding  foaming  and  the  tendency  of  oxidation  of  some  of  the 
constituents  of  the  cream,  while  the  cream  is  hot. 

Most  of  the  coils  have  a  tube  diameter  of  from  two  to  two 
and  one-half  inches  and  the  diameter  of  the  spiral  ranges  from 
twenty-four  to  twenty-nine  inches. 

The  amount  of  heating  and  cooling  surface  per  gallon  of 
cream  varies  with  different  makes  and  sizes  of  vats.  In  many 


198  PASTEURIZATION 

cases  the  heating  and  cooling  surface  of  a  300-gallon  vat  is 
practically  the  same  as  that  of  a  600-gallon  vat,  because  the  same 
size  coil  is  used  in  different  size  vats.  Generally  speaking,  large 
vats  have  less  heating  surface  per  gallon  of  cream  than  small 
vats.  For  efficient  and  reasonably  rapid  heating  and  cooling  a 
vat  should  have  not  less  than  about  twenty  square  inches  of 
heating  surface  per  gallon  of  cream. 

The  great  majority  of  the  coils  and  outer  shafts  are  con- 
structed of  copper,  tinned  over  and  the  lining  of  the  vats  is  of 
the  same  construction.  In  some  rare  cases  vat  pasteurizers  have 
been  equipped  with  German  silver  coils. 

The  inner  shafts  in  the  older  vats  were  made  of  iron.  This 
caused  them  to  corrode  rapidly  and  give  much  annoyance  due  to 
electrolytic  action  of  two  metals  in  brine.  This  objection  has 
now  been  largely  removed  by  either  doing  away  with  the  inner 
shaft  entirely  or  lining  it  with  copper. 

The  exposure  of  the  coils  and  vat  linings  to  heat,  cold,  acid, 
and  neutralizers  is  exceedingly  hard  on  the  tin  coating.  The 
tin  coating  soon  yields  to  these  corrosive  agents  and  wears  off. 
This  is  especially  true  where  the  vats  are  not  thoroughly  cleaned 
and  freed  from  lime,  cream  and  alkali  washing  powder,  or  when 
wire  dish  cloths  or  other  similar  scouring  equipment  is  used 
for  cleaning.  Caustic  alkalies  should  not  be  used  for  washing 
the  vats  and  the  vats  should  be  thoroughly  rinsed  out  with 
water  after  cleaning,  and  drained  and  steamed  so  that  they  dry 
quickly.  If  alkaline  washing  powder  is  used,  it  should  not  be 
sprinkled  over  coil,  vat  lining  and  cover  lining  and  allowed  to 
remain  there  dry.  Even  the  smallest  specks  of  dry  and  moist 
washing  powders  quickly  attack  the  tinned  copper  surface,  caus- 
ing the  surface  to  become  covered  with  black  spots  and  blotches. 
And  any  alkali  deposited  in  the  bottom  of  the  vats  will  inevit- 
ably tarnish  the  lining,  and  expose  the  copper.  The  washing 
powder  should  be  placed  into  the  water  in  the  vat  where  it  dis- 
solves quickly  and  completely  and  in  which  form  it  can  be  re- 
moved completely  at  the  conclusion  of  the  cleansing  operation. 

The  copper  lining  of  the  pasteurizing  vats  and  covers  is  ob- 
jectionable at  best,  for  the  reasons  discussed  under  construction 
of  cream  ripening  vats?  and  here,  too,  the  use  of  glass- 


PASTEURIZATION 


199 


enameled  equipment,  instead  of  copper-lined  vats,  would  greatly 
reduce  the  effect  of  agencies  that  make  for  butter  deterioration. 
As  long  as  copper-lined  pasteurizing  vats  are  and  must  be  used, 
the  danger  of  the  injurious  effect  of  the  copper  and  its  salts,  on 
the  quality  of  cream  and  butter,  may  be  materially  minimized  by 
holding  the  cream  in  these  vats  for  the  shortest  possible  time 
only,  consistent  with  adequate  chilling  of  the  fat  preparatory 


Pig".  33  Tig.  34 

Jensen  circular  vat  pasteurizer  with  suspended  coil 

Courtesy  Jensen  Cry.  Mach.  Co. 

to  churning.  The  holding  of  cream  in  these  vats  over  night  can- 
not be  recommended.  At  certain  seasons  of  the  year  it  is  al- 
most sure  to  cause  metallic  and  other  off-flavors  in  butter.  If 
the  cream  cannot  be  churned  the  same  day  it  is  "dumped"  and 
pasteurized,  it  would  be  preferable,  from  the  standpoint  of 
quality,  to  hold  it  over  night  in  the  cans  set  in  the  cooler. 

Construction  of  Covers. — The  construction  of  the  covers  of 
these  vats  is  also  of  great  importance.  The  covers  should  be 
lined  with  tinned  copper  on  the  under  side  and  the  lining  should 
lap  over  and  up  on  the  upper  side  of  the  cover  so  as  to  avoid 


200  PASTEURIZATION 

cream  from  seeping  in  between  the  liner  and  the  wood  of  the 
cover,  causing  the  latter  to  become  a  serious  source  of  con- 
tamination of  the  cream.  Some  of  the  most  modern  vat  covers 
are  enveloped  entirely  in  tinned  copper  and  are  proving  highly 
satisfactory  from  the  sanitary  standpoint. 

Connections  for  and  the  Circulation  of  the  Heating  and  Cool- 
ing Medium. — 'There  are  two  principle  systems  which  serve  to 
circulate  the  heating  and  cooling  medium,  the  hot  and  cold  water 
and  the  brine,  through  the  revolving  coils  in  the  pasteurizing 
vats,  namely  the  self-circulating  system  and  the  positive  circulat- 
ing system. 

The  self-circulating  system  operates  on  the  principle  'that 
air  is  lighter  than  water.  It  consists  of  admitting  to  the  coil, 
a  small  amount  of  air  through  an  automatic  air  vent,  installed 
at  the  head  of  the  coil  shaft.  As  the  air  and  water,  or  brine, 
enter  the  coil,  the  air  rises  to  the  surface  in  the  coil.  If  enough 
air  enters  so  that  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  coil  is  below 
the  under  side  of  the  coil  wall  at  its  highest  point,  the  air  in 
the  top  portion  of  the  coil  forms  a  solid  plug,  or  partition,  be- 
tween the  water  columns  in  the  left  and  right  side  of  the  coil. 
When  the  coil  revolves,  this  partition  of  air  prevents  the  water 
in  the  coil  from  staying  or  flowing  back.  The  coil  being  a 
spiral,  causes  the  air  plug  to  push  the  water  column  forward 
with  each  revolution  of  the  coil.  This  inevitably  produces  a 
vacuum  and  suction  behind  the  air  plug  and  this  suction  draws 
in  more  water  and  air,  the  operation  thus  repeating  itself  with 
every  turn  of  the  coil. 

In  the  positive  system  of  circulation  the  heating  and  cool- 
ing medium  are  forced  through  the  revolving  coil  by  a  pump. 
In  this  system  there  is  no  air  in  the  coil,  the  water  fills  the 
entire  coil. 

For  heating,  the  coils  should  be  fed  with  hot  water  only. 
They  should  not  be  charged  with  steam,  as  the  agitation  of  the 
cream  in  the  vat,  is  not  sufficient  to  prevent  excessive  burn- 
ing of  the.  cream  on  the  surface  of  the  steam  heating  coil,  and 
direct  steam  is  also  exceedingly  destructive  to  the  packing  in 


PASTEURIZATION  201 

the  glands,  if  not  to  the  bearings  themselves.  In  the  case  of 
the  self-circulating  system  the  water  is  heated  in  one  of  the 
following  three  ways : 

Steam  is  blown  into  the  water  entering  the  shaft,  through  a 
steam  jet  located  at  the  front  end  of  the  vat.  This  is  the  most 
objectionable  manner  df  heating,  usually  causing  the  coil  to  be- 
come excessively  coated  with  burnt  cream  and  making  it  exceed- 
ingly hard  to  clean.  In  this  method  free  steam  is  bound  to 
occasionally  blow  into  and  through  the  coil. 

Again,  the  water  in  some  of  the  vats  is  heated  by  means  of  a 
water  heater  of  the  McDaniels  or  Penberthy  type,  installed  at 
the  back  end  of  the  pipe  which  returns  the  exhaust  of  the  coil 
to  the  head  of  the  coil.  This  method  gives  the  steam  a  some- 
what better  opportunity  to  be  completely  absorbed  by  the  water, 
but  even  in  this  case  there  is  a  spasmodic  blowing  of  the  steam 
through  the  coil  at  times. 

In  the  third  method  of  heating,  a  water  heater  is  installed 
in  the  ice-box  at  the  rear  end  of  the  vat,  all  the  water  is  heated 
in  the  ice-box  and  from  here,  the  hot  water  returns  to  the  head 
of  the  coil  through  the  return  pipe  located  under  the  vat.  This 
method  precludes  the  blowing  of  steam  through  the  coil  and  is, 
from  this  point  of  view,  the  most  satisfactory  manner  of  heating 
the  water  with  the  self-circulating  system.  By  this  method,  how- 
ever, the  cream  is  not  heated  quite  as  rapidly  as  when  the  steam 
is  injected  into  the  water  in  the  return  pipe  or  at  the  head  of 
the  coil. 

In  the  positive  circulating  system,  a  separate  tank  is  pro- 
vided in  which  the  water  is  heated  with  direct  steam  to  the 
desired  temperature,  from  which  it  is  pumped  with  a  centrifugal 
pump,  attached  to  the  tank,  through  the  coil,  and  to  which  the 
exhaust  water  of  the  coil  returns.  In  this  method  the  coil  is 
completely  rilled  with  the  hot  water.  It  is  obviously  a  very 
reliable  and  rapid  method  of  heating,  but  necessitates  extra 
equipment  and  additional  space. 

The  cooling  is  done  in  a  similar  manner  as  the  heating,  the 
same  system  serving  both.  It  is  customary  to  use  water  for 
the  first  cooling,  lowering  the  temperature  to  about  70°  F.  and 
then  finish  the  cooling  with  brine  or  ice  water.  If  ice  water  is 


202  PASTEURIZATION 

used,  the  ice  box  in  the  rear  of  the  vat,  or  the  separate  tank  of 
the  positive  system,  serves  to  dissolve  the  ice  and  the  ice  water 
is  circulated  in  a  similar  manner  as  the  hot  water.  Water  and 
brine  usually  enter  the  coil  under  pressure,  in  which  case  they 
circulate  on  the  principle  of  the  positive  circulating  system.  The 
water  exhausts  into  the  sewer  and  the  brine  is  pumped  back  into 
brine  tank  above  or  returns  to  the  brine  tank  by  gravity  if  the 
latter  is  located  in  the  basement.  In  order  to  avoid  excessive 
weakening  of  the  brine  by  the  water  remaining  in  the  coil,  it  is 
advisable  to  not  only  give  the  coil  as  many  turns  as  there  are 
rungs  in  the  spiral  after  the  water  is  shut  off,  and  before  the 
brine  is  turned  on,  but  to  allow  the  exhaust  of  the  coil  to  run 
off,  after  the  brine  has  been  turned  on  until  the  exhaust  begins 
to  taste  briny. 

Steam,  water  und  brine  connections  should  be  at  least  of 
equal  size  as  the  inlet  to  the  vat.  If  they  have  to  be  brought 
from  a  considerable  distance  it  is  recommended  that  they  be 
at  least  one  pipe-size  larger  than  the  vat  inlet.  The  pressure 
on  the  disc  machines  should  not  exceed  5  to  10  Ibs.  and  that 
on  the  coil  machines  about  35  pounds  per  square  inch. 

Operation  of  Vat  Pasteurizer. — The  use  of  a  forewarmer  be- 
fore the  cream  reaches  the  vat  pasteurizer  is  not  so  essential  in 
the  holding  process  of  pasteurization  as  in  the  flash  process. 
The  standardization  of  cream  for  acid  and  for  fat  may  be.  and  is 
often  done  in  the  pasteurizing  vat.  However,  the  forewarmer 
is  a  convenient  dumping  vat  and  is  used  in  most. creameries  in 
connection  with  either  vat  or  flash  pasteurization. 

If  the  cream  is  sour,  or  part  sweet  and  part  sour,  it  is 
advisable  to  raise  the  temperature  in  the  vat  pasteurizer  slowly 
to  about  115  degrees  F.  and  then  rapidly  to  145  degrees  F.  in 
order  to  avoid  abnormal  curdling.  In  extreme  cases  of  curdling 
difficulties  it  may  even  be  necessary  to  hold  the  cream  at  about 
115  degrees  F.  for  a  while.  This  slow  heating  below  125  de- 
grees F.  gives  the  curd  an  opportunity  to  contract  and  harden 
in  the  usual  way,  so  that  when  the  higher  temperature  is  reached, 
the  formation  of  a  rubbery  and  sticky  curd  and  loss  of  fat  as  the 
result  of  intense  action  of  heat  and  acid  on  the  soft  casein,  is 


PASTEURIZATION  203 

avoided.     The  tendency  of  abnormal  curdling  is  especially  pro- 
nounced in  the  case  of  cream  very  low  in  butterfat. 

In  the  case  of  sweet  cream,  or  sour  cream  neutralized  to 
about  .25  per  cent  acid,  there  is  no  danger  of  the  formation  of 
an  abnormal  curd.  The  neutralizer  should  be  added  after  all 
the  cream  of  one  batch  is  in  the  vat  pasteurizer  and  before  the 
heat  is  turned  on.  The  neutralizer  should  be  distributed  uni- 
formly throughout  the  cream  in  the  vat  while  the  coil  is  revolv- 
ing. If  sweet  milk  is  added  to  the  cream  it  should  be  added  im- 
mediately after  neutralization  and  before  pasteurization. 

Speed  of  Revolving  Coil. — The  coil  in  the  vat  pasteurizer 
should  be  run  at  the  speed  indicated  in  the  directions  furnished 
by  the  manufacturer  of  the  vat.  The  exact  speed  desired  varies 
with  the  size  of  the  vat  and  the  size  of  the  coil,  ranging  from 
about  25  to  40  revolutions  per  minute.  The  higher  speed  ap- 
plies to  the  smaller  coils  and  the  lower  speed  to  the  larger 
coils.  A  coil  with  a  24  inch  diameter  should  revolve  about  35 
to  40  revolutions  per  minute,  while  a  coil  with  a  29  inch  diam- 
eter should  make  about  28  to  30  revolutions  per  minute. 

Insufficient  speed  of  the  coil  fails  to  produce  adequate  agita- 
tion which  in  turn  makes  the  control  of  the  temperature  difficult, 
retards  the  heating  and  cooling  and  may  augment  the  coating 
of  the  coil  with  cooked  cream. 

Too  high  a  speed  of  the  coil  causes  excessive  foaming  of 
the  cream  and  the  beating  of  air  into  it.  The  foaming  is 
objectionable  because  it  renders  difficult  the  emptying  of 
the  vat  without  the  use  of  excessive  volumes  of  water  and  usual- 
ly incurs  excessive  loss  of  fat.  The  beating  of  air  into  the  cream 
is  undesirable  because  the  incorporated  air  invites  oxidation 
which  later  may  lead  to  butter  defects. 

Fullness  of  Vat  Pasteurizer. — The  best  results  are  obtained 
when  the  vat  is  full  enough  to  completely  submerge  the  revolv- 
ing coil  in  the  cream.  The  heating  and  cooling  proceeds  faster 
when  the  coil  is  submerged  than  when  part  of  it  projects  above 
the  cream,  because  with  a  submerged  coil  the  entire  coil  is  active 
at  all  times  while,  in  the  case  of  an  exposed  coil  only  part  of 
the  coil  does  duty.  The  portion  of  the  coil  that  is  exposed  to 


204  PASTEURIZATION 

the  air  is  more  apt  to  become  coated  with  cooked  cream  than 
the  submerged  coil.  A  submerged  coil  precludes  all  danger  of 
excessive  foaming  and  of  whipping  air  into  the  cream,  while 
an  exposed  coil  is  bound  to  incorporate  air  in  the  cream  and 
the  more  the  coil  projects  above  the  cream  the  more  pronounced 
is  this  objection.  An  exposed  coil  also  invariably  causes  much 
splashing  of  the  cream,  which  is  objectionable. 

Because  of  the  objection  of  operating  the  vat  with  the  coil 
projecting  above  the  cream,  vat  pasteurizers  in  which  the  coils 
are  set  low  are  preferable  to  those  in  which  the  coils  extend  to 
the  top  of  the  vat. 

For  this  same  reason  vat  pasteurizers  of  cylindrical  shape 
and  with  a  vertical,  suspended  coil  are  superior  to  vats  with 
horizontal  coils.  In  the  cylindrical  vat  the  motion  of  the  coil 
spiral  is  upward,  and  out  of  the  cream,  making  impossible  the 
mixing  of  air  with  the  cream,  while  in  the  vat  with  the  horizontal 
coil  the  spiral  of  the  coil  moves  downward  into  the  cream. 

Temperature  and  Time  of  Exposure. — The  heating  should 
be  done  as  rapidly  as  the  supply  of  steam,  the  available  heating 
surface  and  the  circulating  system  permit.  The  cream  should 
be  heated  to  145  degrees  F.,  and  held  at  that  temperature  at 
least  twenty  and  preferably  thirty  minutes. 

Slow  heating  and  prolonged  holding  at  145  degrees  F.  are 
prone  to  produce  cream  and  butter  with  a  mealy  body.  Under 
proper  conditions  the  heating  of  the  cream  to  145  degrees  F. 
should  not  occupy  more  than  about  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes. 

Experimental1  results  have  shown  that  when  holding  the 
cream  at  145  degrees  F.  for  a  shorter  time  than  twenty  minutes, 
the  germ-killing  efficiency  suffers.  This  is  clearly  demonstrated 
in  Table  36. 

As  soon  as  the  temperature  has  reached  145  degrees  F.  a 
pail  full  of  the  hot  cream  should  be  drawn  from  the  gate  of  the 
vat  and  poured  back  into  the  vat.  The  nipple  at  the  gate  con- 

1  Hunziker,    Mills   and   Spltzer,   Pasteurization   of  Cream   for   Butter-making, 
Purdue  Bulletin,  No.  203,  1917. 


PASTEURIZATION 


205' 


Table  36. — Per  Cent  Micro-Organisms  destroyed  when  Heated  to 
145°  F.  for  10,  15,  20,  30  and  40  Minutes,  Respectively. 

(Averages  of  21  churnings.) 


Time  Held 
at 
145°  F. 

Per  Cent  Decrease  of  Germs  Due  to  Pasteurization 

Total 
Bacteria 

Acid- 
ifiers 

Lique- 
fiers 

Yeast  and 
Molds 

10   minutes   . 

99.39 

99.29 

98.79 

87.50 

15   minutes  

99.89 

99.94 

99.72 

99.18 

20   minutes  

99.98 

99.98 

99.95 

99.93 

30  minutes 

99.99 

99.999 

99.98 

99.94 

40    minutes.. 

99.999 

99.999 

99.99 

99.98 

tains  a  plug  of  raw  cream  which  fails  to  be  heated  properly  and 
which  tends  to  recontaminate  the  cream  in  the  churn. 

Blowing  air  into  the  cream,  during  the  process  of  heating 
is  not  recommended,  except  in  the  case  of  very  poor  cream 
tainted  with  objectionable  strong  odors  and  flavors.  This  kind 
of  cream  is  often  considerably  improved  by  blowing,  eliminat- 
ing some  of  the  objectionable  odors,  but  butter  from  such  cream 
will  at  best  be  of  low  grade. 

Blowing  air  into  cream  of  fair  or  good  quality  is  objection- 
able because  the  air,  in  the  presence  of  heat  invites  oxidation  and 
jeopardizes  the  keeping  quality  of  the  resulting  butter.  The 
blowing  of  the  cream  during  pasteurization  is  undesirable  also 
because  butter  made  from  such  cream  is  prone  to  have  a  mealy 
body.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  blowing  retards 
and  prolongs  the  heating  process,  hardening  the  curd  particles 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  them  mealy.  The  prolongation 
of  the  heating  process  as  the  result  of  blowing  air  into  the 
cream  is  due  to  the  cooling  effect  of  air  on  the  cream  and  the 
increased  evaporation  of  moisture  which  absorbs  additional  heat 
units. 


It  is  advisable  to  revolve  the  coil  while  the  cream  is  being 
held  at  145  degrees  F.  in  order  to  guard  against  the  tendency  of 


206  PASTEURIZATION 

the  hot  cream  to  "oil  off,"  causing  the  fat  to  become  granular 
during  subsequent  cooling  and  giving  the  butter  a  mealy  body 
similar  to  that  of  renovated  butter. 

In  order  to  avoid  appreciable  lowering  of  the  temperature 
of  the  cream,  with  the  coil  revolving  during  the  holding  process, 
the  covers  should  be  down.  It  is  customary  to  empty  the  coil 
as  soon  as  the  temperature  has  risen  to  145  degrees  F.  in  order 
to  avoid  overheating  and  mealiness.  When  conditions  are  prone 
to  produce  mealiness,  a  rise  of  a  very  few  degrees  above  145 
degrees  F.  may  cause  this  defect.  Under  such  conditions  it  may 
even  be  advisable  to  turn  the  steam  off  when  a  temperature  of 
140  degrees  F.  has  been  reached,  then  pull  the  cover  down  and 
hold  for  32  minutes,  leaving  the  hot  water  in  the  revolving 
coil.  Experience  has  shown  that  with  the  hot  water  in  *the  coil  at 
the  usual  temperature  at  this  stage  of  the  process,  there  is  suffi- 
cient heat  present  to  raise  the  temperature  of  the  cream  to  145 
degrees  F.  in  one  or  two  minutes,  but  not  enough  heat  to  cause 
the  temperature  to  rise  above  145  degrees  F.  during  the  holding 
process. 

Cooling  the  Cream  in  the  Vat  Pasteurizer. — After  the  cream 
has  been  held  at  145  degrees  F.  for  20  to  30  minutes,  it  should 
be  cooled  as  promptly  as  facilities  permit.  In  order  to  economize 
cold,  the  cream  is  best  cooled  with  water  to  about  70  degrees  F. 
and  then  with  brine  or  ice  water  to  the  churning  temperature. 
If  starter  is  used  it  may  be  added  when  the  temperature  has 
reached  about  70  degrees  F.  For  butter  that  is  not  consumed 
promptly  it  is  recommended  to  not  add  the  starter  until  about 
five  minutes  before  churning.  If  it  is  not  intended  to  ripen  the 
cream,  it  should  at  once  be  cooled  to  the  churning  temperature 
and  held  there  for  not  less  than  two  to  three  hours.  During 
the  cooling  process  the  cover  of  the  vat  should  be  down.  When 
emptying  the  vat  it  should  be  rinsed  down  to  reclaim  the  butter- 
fat  contained  in  the  cream  that  does  not  automatically  run  out. 
This  rinsing  should  be  done  with  the  minimum  amount  of  water 
that  will  do  the  work,  or  preferably  with  skim  milk.  The  ex- 
cessive dilution  of  the  cream  with  water  is  very  objectionable 
because  it  diminishes  the  power  of  the  milk  solids  to  protect  the 


PASTEURIZATION 


207 


fat  globules  against  mutilation  during  the  churning  process  and 
tends  to  give  the  butter  a  poor  body,  susceptible  to  the  develop- 
ment of  serious  butter  defects. 

Temperature  Control  in  Vat  Pasteurization. — Vat  pasteuri- 
zation offers  greater  facilities  for  temperature  control,  because 
of  the  larger  volume  of  cream  simultaneously  heated  than  is 
the  case  with  flash  pasteurization.  Nevertheless  the  process,  if 
it  is  to  be  dependable  and  successful,  requires  the  constant  -at- 
tention of  the  operator.  The  installation  and  use  of  a  tem- 
perature recorder  in  this  process,  too,  is  a  great  help  in  order 
to  insure  accurate  work. 

Flash  and  Holding  Pasteurization  Combined. — In  some  in- 
stances the  two  systems  of  pasteurization  are  combined,  the 
cream  being  heated  in  the  flash  pasteurizer  and  held  in  the  vat. 
For  this  purpose  anyone  of  the  flash  pasteurizers  above  referred 
to  may  be  used.  The  cream  is  run  through  the  flash  pasteurizer 
at  150  degrees  to  170  degrees  F.  From  the  flash  machine  it  is 
allowed  to  flow  into  the  vat  or  retainer  where  it  is  held  for  from 
10  to  30  minutes  at  the  desired  temperature  and  then  cooled. 
This  method  is  more  generally  used  in  milk  plants.  Very  few 
creameries  have  adopted  it. 


rig.  35.     Progress  internal  tube  pasteurizer,  holder  and  cooler 
Courtesy  Davis- Watkins  Dairymen's  Mfg.  Co. 


208  PASTEURIZATION 

With  equipment  of  average  capacity,  there  is  no  very 
great  saving  in  time  by  this  combination  pasteurizing  process. 
It  requires  about  as  much  time  to  run  the  cream  through  the 
flash  machine  as  it  does  to  heat  the  cream  to  the  desired  tem- 
perature in  the  vat.  The  extra  time  needed  to  fill  the  vat,  how- 
ever, is  eliminated,  inasmuch  as  with  this  system  the  heating  of 
the  cream  and  the  filling  of  the  vat  are  done  in  one  operation. 

The  chief  advantage  of  this  system  lies  in  the  preservation 
of  the  vat.  The  cream  being  neutralized  before  it  reaches  the 
vat  avoids  the  corrosive  action  of  the  acid  on  the  vat,  and  the 
heating  in  the  vat  being  eliminated  minimizes  further  corrosion 
and  wear  of  the  tin  coating  on  coil  and  vat  liner ;  thereby  render- 
ing the  cleaning  of  the  vat  easier.  The  bearings  and  stuffing  boxes 
in  the  vat  are  also  saved  from  heavy  wear  caused  by  expansion 
incident  to  heating  in  the  vat. 

In  some  cases  where  the  combined  flash  and  holding  pasteuri- 
zation is  in  operation,  the  holding  of  the  hot  cream  is  done  in 
a  compartment  retarder  in  which  it  is  held  for  the  desired  length 
of  time  and  from  which  it  finally  reaches  the  vat  where  it  is 
cooled.  One  objection  to  this  system  lies  in  the  obvious  danger 
of  recontamination  of  the  cream  by  flowing  into  two  containers 
after  pasteurization.  When  this  system  of  pasteurizing  is  used, 
special  attention  should  be  given  to  the  proper  cleaning  and 
steaming  of  all  containers  used  after  pasteurization. 

Cleaning  and  General  Care  of  Pasteurizers. — On  the  proper 
cleaning  and  care  of  the  pasteurizer  depend  very  largely  its 
efficiency  and  its  period  of  usefulness.  Remnants  of  cream,  neut- 
;ralizer  or  wash-water  containing  alkali,  have  a  corrosive  action 
,on  the  tin  coating  and  cause  this  coating  to  wear  off  rapidly. 
The  use  of  tools  that  scratch  the  metal,  such  as  wire  dish  cloths, 
;sand  and  emery  paper,  metal  bristle  brushes,  etc.,  cannot  be 
too  strongly  condemned.  Washing  powders  containing  free 
caustic  substances,  such  as  soda  or  potash  lye,  attack  the  metal 
and  should  not  be  used.  Dry  or  concentrated  alkali  of  any 
kind  should  not  be  allowed  to  remain  on  the  tinned  surface  of 
coils  and  vat.  It  is  best  to  use  only  dilute  solutions  and  rinse 
off  all  traces  of  alkali  after  washing. 


PASTEURIZATION  209 

If  the  pasteurizer  is  in  poor  condition,  rusty,  or  with  the  tin 
worn  off  and  the  exposed  copper  unclean  and  coated  with  ver- 
digris, etc.,  the  damage  done  to  the  cream  and  butter  may  be 
far  greater  than  the  possible  benefits  of  pasteurization.  The 
direct  exposure  of  the  cream  to  iron  and  copper  and  their  salts 
tends  to  give  the  finished  product  a  disagreeable  metallic  flavor. 
The  acid  in  the  cream  enters  into  chemical  combination  with 
such  metals  as  iron  and  copper,  forming  metallic  salts,  such 
as  iron  lactate  and  copper  lactate.  These  salts  have  the  power 
to  accelerate  bacterial  action  in  butter  and  also  to  stimulate 
oxidation  and  decomposition  of  its  ingredients.  In  the  presence 
of  pasteurizing  heat  this  chemical  action  is  intensified.  The 
action  of  these  metallic  salts  is  made  more  damaging  by  the 
fact  that  they  possess  catalytic  properties,  that  is  they  continue 
to  act,  changing  the  substances  (fats,  curd,  etc.)  with  which 
they  come  in  contact,  without  they,  themselves,  (the  salts)  being 
changed  or  weakened.  Metallic  salts  have  been  found  to  con- 
stitute important  members  of  the  combination  of  conditions 
that  produce  butter  with  metallic,  tallowy,  fishy,  and  other 
flavor  defects. 

Immediately  after  use  the  pasteurizer  should  be  rinsed  out 
with  water.  In  the  case  of  the  flash  machine  the  water  can  be 
pumped  through  the  pasteurizer  immediately  following  the 
cream.  The  machine  is  then  opened,  the  agitator  or  drum  care- 
fully removed  and  all  parts  are  scrubbed  with  brush  and  hot 
water  containing  non-caustic  washing  powder.  Some  operators 
prefer  to  fill  the  flash  pasteurizer  with  alkali  solution,  allow  it 
to  soak  over  night  and  then  complete  the  cleansing  the  follow- 
ing morning.  It  has  also  been  found  that  the  coating  on  the 
heating  surface  of  flash  machines  can  be  readily  removed  by 
charging  the  jacket  with  steam,  after  the  pasteurizer  has  first 
been  rinsed  with  water.  This  heating  causes  the  coating  to 
dry,  contract  and  peal  off,  facilitating  its  removal. 

The  vats  are  best  filled  one-third  to  one-half  full  with 
hot  water  containing  non-caustic  washing  powder  and  the  sides, 
bottom,  coil,  shaft  and  gate  are  scrubbed  with  a  good  brush  until 
all  remnants  of  cream  are  removed.  If  the  vat  pasteurizer  has 
been  operated  in  the  proper  manner,  avoiding  the  blowing  of 
steam  direct  into  the  coil,  there  is  little  danger  of  a  coating  of 


210  PASTEURIZATION 

burnt  cream  on  the  coil.  If  the  coil  has  become  so  coated  it  is 
very  difficult  to  thoroughly  cleanse  it  at  best.  The  secret  of 
easy  and  proper  cleaning-  therefore  lies  in  the  proper  operation 
of  the  pasteurizing  process. 

After  the  remnants  of  cream  are  removed,  the  pasteurizer 
should  be  rinsed  out  thoroughly  with  hot  water,  freeing  it  from 
all  traces  of  alkali.  Then  it  should  be  thoroughly  steamed  until 
"piping"  hot,  leaving  the  gate  open  to  allow  the  condensed 
steam  to  pass  off.  After  steaming,  the  vat  cover  should  be  raised 
so  as  to  insure  prompt  drying  of  all  parts  of  the  machine.  If  the 
vat  is  so  installed  as  to  cause  its  bottom  to  slope  about  If  inches 
to  2  inches  for  every  ten  feet,  the  water  will  drain  out  readily 
and  there  is  no  danger  of  water  remaining  in  the  trough  of  the 
vat.  Immediately  before  use  the  next  day  the  pasteurizer 
should  again  be  flushed  and  steamed  out  before  the  cream 
enters  it. 

Stuffing  boxes  should  not  be  allowed  to  leak  cream,  water, 
brine,  or  steam.  Glands  should  be  carefully  tightened  until 
leaks  are  stopped.  Packing  should  be  renewed  as  often  as 
is  necessary  to  keep  the  glands  from  leaking.  Avoid  the  use  of 
impure  calcium  brine.  Calcium  brine  containing  magnesium 
chloride  causes  rapid  corrosion  of  the  iron  parts  of  the  circulat- 
ing system,  which  intensifies  the  danger  of  generating  elec- 
trolysis. This  is  damaging  to  the  machine  and  injurious  to 
the  cream. 

All  pumps,  cream  conduits  and  strainers  should  receive 
daily  cleaning  and  steaming  so  as  to  prevent  them  from  be- 
coming dangerous  sources  of  contamination. 

Advantages  and  Disadvantages  of  Continuous  and  Vat 
Pasteurization. 

General  Practicability. — Taking  into  consideration  all  con- 
ditions, such  as  irregularities  of  delivery  of  cream,  condition  of 
cream,  average  intelligence  of  operator  and  simplicity  of  opera- 
tion, the  vat  method  of  pasteurization  appears  the  most  practical. 
This  applies  especially  to  conditions  as  they  prevail  in  the 
average  small  creamery.  When  the  daily  cream  receipts  are 
limited  and  the  shipments  or  deliveries  happen  to  arrive  at  ir- 
regular times  of  the  day,  it  is  difficult  to  use  the  continuous  pas- 
teurizer to  advantage.  When  this  machine  is  once  started  it  is 


PASTEURIZATION  211 

desirable  ta  continue  its  operation.  In  the  case  of  vat  pasteuri- 
zation this  objection  is  largely  eliminated.  The  usually  limited 
knowledge  of  the  preparation  of  cream  for  pasteurization  on  the 
part  of  the  average  operator  in  the  small,  local  creamery  renders 
the  successful  operation  of  the  continuous  machine  often  dif- 
ficult. The  high  temperatures  employed  in  flash  pasteurization 
intensify  the  usual  difficulties,  such  as  abnormal  curdling,  etc., 
which  are  encountered  with  cream  of  varying  quality,  acidity  and 
richness.  The  vat  pasteurizer  with  its  lower  temperature  facili- 
tates the  handling  of  cream  in  this  respect.  The  simplicity  of  the 
vat  pasteurizer  and  the  ease  of  operation  are  in  its  favor  under 
the  conditions  of  the  small  creamery. 

Capacity. — For  heavy  duty  and  maximum  capacity  the  flash 
or  continuous  process  excels.  In  the  flash  process  the  heating 
and  cooling  is  practically  instantaneous  and  requires  little  time 
additional  to  that  needed  for  filling  the  vat  with  the  cream, 
while  in  the  vat  process,  after  the  vat  is  filled,  the  heating,  hold- 
ing and  cooling  require  from  one  and  one-half  to  two  hours  for 
each  vat  full  of  cream.  When  a  small  amount  of  cream  is 
handled  this  delay  may  not  be  so  great  a  factor.  But  in  a 
creamery  manufacturing  large  quantities  of  butter  daily,  the 
speed  of  operation  is  an  essential  factor.  In  fact,  the  limited 
capacity  of  the  plant  may  demand  this  extra  speed  in  order  to 
increase  the  working  capacity  of  the  plant  and  make  possible 
the  handling  of  all  the  cream  received  during  the  flush  of  the 
season. 

Durability  of  Equipment. — Originally  the  vat  with  agitating 
coil  was  intended  only  for  control  of  the  temperature  of  the 
cream  during  ripening  and  cooling.  It  was  not  intended  for 
pasteurization  of  the  cream.  The  wide  range  of  temperature 
between  the  heating  and  cooling  medium  and  the  operation  of 
the  heating  and  cooling  itself  places  an  extremely  heavy  tax 
on  the  vat  pasteurizer,  and  the  exposure  of  the  coil  and  liner 
to  high  acid  in  the  cream  and  to  the  neutralizer,  augment  the 
wear  and  corrosion  of  the  machine. 

Especially  where  used  for  heavy  duty,  as  is  the  case  in 
many  creameries  during  the  flush  of  the  season,  when  the  vats 
are  refilled  with  batch  after  batch  of  cream,  practically  day  and 


212  PASTEURIZATION 

night,  the  wear  and  tear  on  the  vats,  is  very  great  and  their 
life  is  comparatively  short.  In  order  to  keep  them  in  acceptable 
condition,  frequent  retinning  and  other  repairs  are  necessary  and 
even  then  the  vats  have  to  be  replaced  by  new  ones  every  five 
to  six  years. 

The  flash  pasteurizer,  on  the  other  hand,  is  built  to  with- 
stand the  heat  of  pasteurization,  it  is  made,  intended  and 
used  for  heating  only,  and  one  flash  machine  performs  the  heat- 
ing of  all  the  cream  received,  as  against  an  entire  row  of  vats 
in  the  case  of  vat  pasteurization  in  a  large  creamery.  Being 
constructed  and  operated  for  but  one  purpose,  that  of  heating 
the  cream,  the  flash  pasteurizer  is  capable  of  serving  that  purpose 
without  undue  wear  and  damage.  Its  chief  wear  is  on  the  tin 
coating  of  the  heating  surface.  This  heating  surface  can  readily 
be  retinned  when  desired,  or  it  can  be  used  with  the  copper 
exposed  without  serious  danger  of  damage  to  the  cream,  as 
the  exposure  of  the  cream  to  it  is  of  very  short  duration  only, 
provided  that  the  copper  surface  is  kept  clean  and  bright  and 
free  from  verdigris.  Since  the  heating  surface  in  the  flash  ma- 
chine is  a  simple  plain  surface,  easily  accessible,  it  can  be  kept 
in  proper  condition  without  difficulty. 

In  the  case  of  the  vat  pasteurizer,  both  the  coil  and  the  vat 
liner  are  difficult  to  clean,  some  portions  are  almost  inaccessible. 
Hence,  when  the  tin  coating  is,  worn  off  it  is  very  difficult  to 
keep  the  vat  in  proper  sanitary  condition  and  the  objectionable 
effect  of  this  condition  is  greatly  intensified  by  the  fact  that 
the  cream  often  remains  in  the  vat  for  several  hours.  If  the 
agitator  of  the  flash  machine  becomes  worn,  the  defective  parts 
can  be  replaced  readily  and  at  small  cost,  while  the  expense  of 
removing  and  retinning  the  coil  and  liner  in  the  vat  is  relatively 
great. 

The  labor  required  for  cleaning  the  flash  machine  is  com- 
paratively small.  The  proper  cleaning  of  vats  in  which  the  cream 
was  pasteurized  requires  much  time  and  hard  labor. 

Expense  of  Equipment  and  Operation. — The  initial  expense 
of  the  equipment  is  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  vat  pasteurizer. 
Since  the  vat  is  doing  both  the  heating  and  the  cooling,  the 
equipment  for  vat  pasteurization  is  confined  exclusively  to  the 


OF  PASTEURIZATION  213 

vat  with  revolving  coil.  In  the  case  of  the  flash  process  the 
same  type  of  vat  is  needed  to  hold,  ripen  and  cool  the  cream, 
but  in  addition  to  this  there  must  be  installed  the  flash 
pasteurizer  and  the  cooler  (unless  all  the  cooling  is  done  in  the 
vat)  and  there  is  further  need  of  at  least  two  forewarmers. 
This  extra  equipment  is  partly  offset  by  the  fact  that  the  flash 
pasteurizer  increases  the  vat  capacity,  hence  fewer  vats  are 
needed  by  this  system  of  pasteurization.  The  upkeep  of  the 
vats  used  for  pasteurizing  is  much  greater  than  the  upkeep  of 
the  flash  machine  as  already  explained  under  "Durability."  The 
labor  needed  for  operation  is  very  similar  with  both  systems 
except  that  of  cleaning  which  is  greater  in  the  case  of  vat 
pasteurizers. 

The  cost  of  fuel  for  heating  and  cooling  is  somewhat  higher 
in  the  case  of  flash  pasteurization  than  in  the  case  of  vat  pasteuri- 
zation. More  heat  is  required  to  raise  the  temperature  of  the 
cream  to  180  degrees  F.  of  flash  pasteurization  than  to  145  de- 
grees F.  of  vat  pasteurization,  and  the  cooling  of  the  hotter, 
flash-heated  cream  involves  the  use  of  correspondingly  more 
cooling  medium  than  the  cooling  of  the  less  hot  cream  of  the 
holding  process. 

EFFECT   OF  PASTEURIZATION   ON  QUALITY   OF 

BUTTER 

Germ-Killing  Efficiency. — The  germ-killing  efficiency  of  vat 
pasteurization  at  145  degrees  F.  and  holding  for  thirty  minutes, 
and  flash  pasteurization  at  180  degrees  F.  is  practically  the  same. 
When  properly  operated  the  two  processes  destroy  over  99  per 
cent  of  the  bacteria,  yeast  and  molds,  present  in  the  cream.  From 
the  standpoint  of  prevention  of  bacterial  action  in  butter  it 
would  seem,  therefore,  that  both  processes  are  equally  efficient. 

Effect  on  Enzymes. — The  effect  of  the  two  processes  of 
pasteurization  on  enzymes  present  in  the  cream,  both,  those 
which  are  inherent  in  milk  and  those  which  may  have  developed 
as  the  result  of  bacterial  action  before  pasteurization,  must  of 
necessity  be  quite  dissimilar.  Exposure  to  a  temperature  of  176 
degrees  F.  or  over  is  destructive  to  the  activity  of  most  of  the 
enzymes  naturally  present,  while  at  145  degrees  F.  enzyme  ac- 
tion is  not  destroyed. 


214  EFFECT  OP  PASTEURIZATION 

The  presence  of  enzymes  in  butter  capable  of  splitting 
butter  fat  and  of  attacking  the  curd  is  most  probable,  especially 
in  the  case  of  butter  made  from  an  inferior  quality  of  cream  that 
is  contaminated  with  diverse  species  of  bacteria  and  that  is 
several  days  old.  It  is  reasonable  to  assume,  therefore,  that  the 
presence  of  these  enzymes  in  butter,  plays  an  important  role  in 
the  deterioration  of  butter  with  age. 

Since  vat  pasteurization  is  incapable  of  destroying  the 
activity  of  these  enzymes,  this  process  fails  to  preserve  the 
butter  from  the  point  of  view  of  enzyme  action.  The  flash 
process  at  180  degrees  F.,  on  the  other  hand,  is  destructive  to 
the  activity  of  these  enzymes  and  therefore  assists  in  preserv- 
ing the  butter.  This  assumption  is  supported  by  experimental 
results  conducted  at  the  Purdue  Experiment  Station,1  which 
show  that  there  is  a  greater  increase  in  the  acid  value,  soluble 
proteids  and  amino  acids  in  storage  butter  made  from  cream 
pasteurized  by  vat  pasteurization  at  145  degrees  F.  than  by  flash 
pasteurization  at  180  degrees  F. 

Effect  on  Score  of  Butter. — The  same  experiments  also 
demonstrated  that,  while  the  fresh  butter  made  from  cream 
pasteurized  by  the  flash  process  at  180  degrees  F.  scored  no 
higher  than,  and  in  the  case  of  sour,  unneutralized  cream  not  as 
high  as,  butter  made  from  cream  pasteurized  with  the  vat  process, 
the  scores  of  the  same  butter  when  30,  60  and  90  days  old 
showed  less  deterioration  in  the  case  of  the  flash  process  than 
the  vat  process  of  pasteurization.  In  the  case  of  sour  cream 
that  was  not  neutralized,  however,  the  fresh  butter  of  the 
flash  process  had  a  very  disagreeable,  oily  flavor,  while  that  of 
the  vat  process  was  free  from  oiliness.  For  further  details 
on  the  causes  of  oily  flavor,  see  Chapter  XVII  on  Butter  Defects. 

The  condition  and  quality  of  the  cream  at  the  time  of 
pasteurization  are  important  factors  in  the  determination  of  the 
benefits  of  pasteurization,  to  the  quality  of  the  resulting  butter. 
The  better  the  flavor  and  the  lower  the  acidity  of  the  cream 
before  pasteurization,  the  better  will  be  the  flavor  of  the  but- 
ter when  fresh  and  after  storage.  However,  experimental  results 
have  amply  demonstrated,  that  the  butter  from  both,  good  and 


1  Hunziker,   Mills  and   Spitzer,   Pasteurization  of  Cream   for  Butter-making, 
Purdue  Bulletin  No.   203,  1917. 


OF  PASTEURIZATION  215 

poor  quality  cream,  is  of  better  quality  and  keeps  better  when 
made  from  properly  pasteurized  cream,  than  when  made  from 
raw  cream. 

Effect  on  Texture  and  Body  of  Butter — Butter  properly  made 
from  raw  cream  has  a  more  crisp,  live  body  and  open  texture 
than  butter  made  from'  pasteurized  cream.  The  latter  is  usually 
more  compact  and  tends  more  towards  a  salvy  consistency. 
Much  of  the  pasteurized-cream  butter  also  has  a  duller  appearance 
and  is  more  or  less  mealy  in  texture.  This  difference  in  the  body 
and  texture  was  somewhat  objected  to  by  the  trade  in  the  earlier 
days  of  pasteurization,  but  the  market  has  gradually  become 
accustomed  to  the  characteristic  body  of  butter  made  from 
properly  pasteurized  cream.  The  extent  to  which  pasteurization 
modifies  the  body  and  texture  of  the  butter  depends  materially 
on  the  method  of  pasteurization  and  of  cooling  and  on  the  con- 
dition, per  cent  of  fat  and  acidity  in  the  cream. 

Flash  pasteurization  has  less  effect  on  the  life,  clearness 
and  smoothness  of  the  body  than  the  holding  process.  This 
is  especially  noticeable  in  the  case  of  butter  made  from  farm- 
skimmed  cream  that  arrives  at  the  creamery  in  sour  condition, 
even  if  the  cream  is  neutralized  before  pasteurization. 

The  prolonged  exposure  to  heat  in  the  holding  process  ap- 
pears to  precipitate  the  casein  into  very  fine  and  firm  particles 
of  curd,  which  seem  to  rob  the  butter  of  its  bright  lustre  and 
which  tend  to  give  it  a  more  or  less  mealy  texture.  These 
changes  are  not  so  pronounced  in  the  case  of  the  flash  process 
because  the  cream  is  exposed  to  the  heat  for  a  very  short  time 
only  and  then  is  cooled  rapidly.  Slow  heating,  prolonged  hold- 
ing at  145  degrees  F.  and  slow  cooling  almost  invariably  pro- 
duce mealiness  in  butter.  Mealiness  is  also  often  caused  when 
the  cream  is  allowed  to  "oil  off",  either  before  pasteurization, 
due  to  improper  thawing  up  of  frozen  cream,  or  during  the 
pasteurizing  process  due  to  allowing  the  heated  cream  to  lay 
in  the  vats  undisturbed  for  any  considerable  length  of  time. 
Mealiness  of  this  type  is  caused  by  the  running  together  of 
the  globules  while  in  melted  condition  and  their  granulation 
during  subsequent  cooling.  See  also  Chapter  XVII  on  Mealy 
Butter. 


216  EFFECT  OF  PASTEURIZATION 

The  difference  in  the  method  of  cooling  between  flash  and 
holding  pasteurization  is  a  further  reason  for  the  greater  tendency 
toward  mealiness  in  the  case  of  vat  pasteurization.  Slow  cooling, 
especially  below  the  melting  point  of  butterfat,  invites  crystalli- 
zation or  granulation  o£  the  butterfat.  And  crystallized  butter- 
fat  means  mealy  butter.  Slow  cooling  is  often  characteristic  of 
vat  pasteurization.  Rapid  cooling,  such  as  is  usually  accomplished 
in  flash  pasteurization,  is  antagonistic  to  crystallization.  There 
is  solidification  but  not  crystallization  of  the  fat.  Hence  flash- 
pasteurized  cream  butter  is  seldom  mealy  and  usually  has  a 
more  waxy  body  than  much  of  the  vat-pasteurized- cream  butter. 

In  the  case  of  rich  cream,  cream  testing  over  35  per  cent 
fat,  pasteurization  tends  to  produce  a  salvy  butter.  This  is 
especially  prone  to  happen  with  flash  pasteurizers  in  which  the 
cream  is  violently  agitated  at  a  high  speed,  as  is  the  case  with 
machines  that  are  equipped  with  a  rapidly  revolving  dasher. 
In  rich  cream  the  milk  solids  which  protect  the  fat  globules 
against  mutilation  are  diminished,  and  in  this  very  fluid  and 
expanded  condition  due  to  the  high  heat,  the  fat  globules  are 
more. sensitive  to  the  excessive  friction  that  results  from  violent 
agitation.  Flash  machines  in  which  the  cream  flows  gently 
and  in  a  thin  layer  between  two  heated  surfaces,  and  vat  pas- 
teurizers, are  less  prone  to  mutilate  the  fat  globules  and  there- 
fore are  less  objectionable  on  this  point.  However,  all  pasteur- 
izers tend  to  produce  a  salvy  butter  when  operated  with  ex- 
cessively rich  cream.  The  salviness  of  butter  made  from  rich 
cream  is  further  intensified  during  the  churning  process.  With 
cream  testing  from  28  to  33  per  cent  fat  the  danger  of  salviness 
in  butter  is  greatly  minimized. 

Effect  of  Season  of  Year  on  Germ-Killing  Efficiency  of 
Pasteurization. — The  resistence  of  micro-  organisms  to  heat 
varies  with  the  species  and  types  of  germs  present.  The  bac- 
terial flora  in  milk  and  cream  varies  considerably  with  the  sea- 
son of  the  year.  As  a  rule  the  predominating  species  in  fall 
and  winter  cream  are  more  resistant  to  heat  than  those  in 
summer  cream.  This  fact  is  brought  out  in  the  following 
table1  which  shows  the  per  cent  reduction  of  germs  due  to  pas- 
teurization of  summer  cream  and  of  winter  cream : 

x  Hunziker,   Spitzer  and  Mills. — The  Pasteurization  of  Cream  for  Butter- 
making,  Purdue  Bulletin,  No.  203,  1917. 


CT  OF  PASTEURIZATION 


217 


Table  37. — Average  Per  Cent  Decrease  of  Micro-Organisms  in 

Summer  and  in  Winter  Cream  Due  to  Pasteurization  at  145°  F. 

Holding  Process,  and  at  165°  F.  and  185°  F.  Flash  Process. 


Method    of 
Pasteur- 
ization 

Total  Count 
Per  Cent 
Decrease 

Acidifiers 
Per  Cent 
Decrease 

Liquefiers 
Per  Cent 
Decrease 

Yeast  and 
Molds  Per 
Cent   Decrease 

Sum- 
mer 
Months 

Win- 
ter 
Months 

Sum- 
mer 
Months 

Win- 
ter 
Months 

Sum- 
mer 
Months 

Win- 
ter 
Months 

Sum- 
mer 
Months 

Win- 
ter 
Months 

145°    F. 
holding    .  . 

99.72 

99.91 

99.97 

99.96 

99.98 

99.97 

99.78 

99.96 
76.63 

165°   F. 
flash 

93.73 

88.25 

94.32 

86.42 

94.61 

86.29 

92.02 

185°   F. 
flash   . 

99.82 

98.15 

99.76 

97.97 

99.94 

99.29 

99.16 

97.17 

The  figures  in  table  37  show  that  when  cream  is  pasteur- 
ized at  145  degrees  F.  and  held  at  that  temperature  for  at 
least  twenty  minutes,  over  99  per  cent  of  the  germs  contained 
therein  are  destroyed  regardless  of  season  of  year.  The  flash 
process  at  185  degrees  F.  was  slightly  less  efficient  in  winter 
than  in  summer.  The  flash  process  at  165  degrees  F.  was  effi- 
cient neither  in  summer  nor  in  winter,  but  its  germ-killing 
efficiency  was  pronouncedly  lower  in  winter  than  in  summer, 
especially  as  regards  the  germs  known  to  be  most  harmful  to 
the  quality  of  butter,  the  liquefying  bacteria  and  the  yeast 
and  molds. 

These  findings  demonstrate  anew  the  inadequacy  of  the 
flash  process  at  165  degrees  F.,  as  a  means  to  free  the  cream 
and  butter  from  undesirable  germs.  It  further  emphasizes  the 
need  of  using  either  the  holding  process,  or  the  flash  process 
at  180  degrees  to  185  degreees  F.,  especially  during  the  winter 
moiiths,  in  order  to  insure  maximum  germ-killing  efficiency. 

The  phenomenon  that  fall  and  winter  cream  is  freed  from 
its  germ  content  less  readily  than  summer  cream  must  be 
attributed  to  the  fact  that  in  fall  the  crops  are  harvested  and 
are  brought  into  the  barn.  These  crops,  especially  corn  silage 
and  grain  crops,  are  teeming  with  various  types  of  resistant 
micro-organisms  and  when  handled  in  the  barn,  the  dust  incident 
to  unloading  and  feeding  is  charged  with  these  germs,  causing 


218 


OF  PASTEURIZATION 


the  milk  and  cream  to  become  profusely  contaminated  with 
them  through  diverse  channels,  such  as  the  air,  the  coating  of 
the  cows,  the  bedding,  the  utensils,  the  milker. 

Additional  contamination  and  possible  spore  formation  re- 
sults, from  storing  the  cream  in  places  where  these  undesirable 
germs  are  prone  to  abide,  such  as  poorly  ventilated  cellars, 
etc.,  and  where  the  cream  is  held  long  before  it  goes  to  the 
creamery,  as  is  often  the  case  during  the  winter  season. 

Effect  of  Pasteurization  on  Per  Cent  Fat  Lost  in  Buttermilk. 

— It  is  the  general  opinion  that  sour  pasteurized  cream  does 
not  churn  out  as  exhaustively  as  raw  cream,  and  that  butter- 
milk from  sour  pasteurized  cream  churnings  tends  to  show  a 
relatively  high  butterfat  test.  The  average  per  cent  fat  in  the 
buttermilk  of  104  churnings  made  from  raw  and  pasteurized, 
sour  cream  is  shown  below.1 

Table  38. — Per  Cent  Fat  in  Buttermilk  from  Raw  Cream  and 
from  Pasteurized  Cream  Churnings. 


Number 
of 
Churnings 

Range 
of    Acidity 
in    Cream 

% 

Per   Cent   Fat   in    Buttermilk 

From 
Raw 
Cream 

From   Pasteurized   Cream 

145°   F. 
20  M. 

165°   F. 
Flash 

185°   F. 
Flash 

104 

.37  to  .62 

.101 

.137 

.120 

.120 

The  above  figures  do  not  show  an  appreciable  difference 
in  the  exhaustiveness  of  churning  between  raw  and  pasteurized 
cream.  While  the  raw  cream  buttermilk  contained  the  least 
amount  of  fat,  the  pasteurized  cream  buttermilk  contained  but 
very  little  more  fat.  The  difference  in  the  fat  content  of  the  butter- 
milk between  the  three  different  processes  of  pasteurization 
used,  also  is  very  slight. 

In  order  to  detect  the  effect  of  acidity  of  the  cream  on 
the  per  cent  fat  in  the  buttermilk  the  104  churnings  were 
grouped  into  churnings  which  at  the  time  of  pasteurization 
contained  .5  per  cent  acid  and  above,  and  churnings  which  at 
the  time  of  pasteurization  contained  less  than  .5  per  cent  acid. 
These  results  are  averaged  in  the  following  table. 


1  Hunziker,  Spitzer  and  Mills. — The  Pasteurization  of  Sour,   Farm -Skimmed 
Cream  for  Buttermakingr,  Purdue  Bulletin,  No.  203,  1917. 


OF  PASTEURIZATION 


219 


Table  39. — Showing  Effect  of  Acid  in  Cream  before  Pasteuriza- 
tion on  Per  Cent  Fat  in  Buttermilk. 


Number 
of 
Churn- 
ings 

Per  Cent  Acid 
in  Cream  Be- 
fore   Pasteur- 
ization 

Per   Cent   Fat   in    Buttermilk 

From 
Raw 
Cream 

From   Pasteurized   Cream 

'    145°   F. 
20  M. 

165°   F. 
Flash 

185°  F. 
Flash 

44 
60 

less  than  .5% 
.5%  or  above 

.100 
.093 

.123 
.160 

.116 
.127 

.104 
.136 

The  figures  in  Table  39  show  that  the  high-acid  cream  pro- 
duced a  somewhat  larger  loss  of  fat  in  the  buttermilk  from 
the  pasteurized  cream,  than  the  low-acid  cream.  The  difference 
might  have  been  considerably  greater  had  the  range  of  acidity 
in  the  different  lots  of  cream  been  wider.  As  it  was,  the  cream 
with  the  least  acid,  tested  .376  per  cent  acid  and  the  sourest 
cream  tested  .621  per  cent  acid. 

The  pasteurization  of  sour  cream  has  a  tendency  to  pro- 
duce a  firm,  contracted  and  dry  curd.  The  particles  of  curd 
lock  up  a  small  amount  of  fat.  In  this  contracted  condition 
they  fail  to  surrender  the  imprisoned  fat  and  carry  it  into  the 
butter  milk.  This  automatically  results  in  a  slightly  increased 
fat  content  of  the  buttermilk.  Under  normal  conditions  of 
properly  mixed  cream  of  uniform  acidity  the  extra  loss  of  fat 
due  to  pasteurization  is  small. 

However,  if  sweet  and  sour  cream  are  pasteurized  together 
and  without  proper  mixing  and  holding  before  pasteurization, 
the  loss  of  fat  may  be  very  great.  In  this  case  the  acid  in  the 
sour  cream  acts  intensely  on  the  curd  in  the  sweet  cream,  in 
the  presence  of  the  pasteurizing  heat.  This  often  causes  the 
formation  of  large  lumps  of  a  tough,  rubbery  and  sticky  curd. 
This  curd  locks  up  relatively  large  amounts  of  fat,  and,  since 
the  curd  passes  into  the  buttermilk,  the  loss  of  fat  in  the  but- 
termilk is  excessive. 

This  loss  can  best  be  avoided  by  pasteurizing  sweet  and 
sour  cream  separately.  If  sweet  cream  and  sour  cream  must 
be  pasteurized  together  they  should  be  thoroughly  mixed  and 
the  mixed  cream  should  be  given  some  time  before  heating 
to  pasteurizing  temperature.  The  heating  should  be  done 
slowly  below  125  degrees  F.  and  from  thereon  rapidly.  This 


220 


EFFECT  OF  PASTEURIZATION 


gives  the  curd  in  the  sweet  cream  an  opportunity  to  be  acted 
upon  in  a  normal  way  by  the  acid  of  the  sour  cream,  so  that 
the  effect  of  the  subsequent  high  heat  is  minimized. 

The  pasteurization  of  very  thin  sour  cream  usually  causes 
excessive  loss  of  fat,  unless  such  cream  is  churned  at  an  exces- 
sively low  temperature. 

Not  infrequently,  excessive  losses  of  fat  in  buttermilk 
from  pasteurized  cream,  while  attributed  to  pasteurization,  are 
due  largely  to  churning  factors,  such  as  churning  the  pasteur- 
ized cream  at  too  high  a  temperature,  or  to  not  holding  the 
cream  at  the  churning  temperature  long  enough.  For  most 
exhaustive  churning  the  cream  should  be  held  at  the  churning 
temperature  not  less  than  two  hours  and  preferably  three  hours. 
Attempts  to  crowd  the  churns  with  too  large  churnings,  which 
are  prone  to  occur  during  the  flush  of  the  season  in  summer, 
are  a  further  common  cause  of  excessive  loss  of  fat  in  the 
buttermilk. 

Chemical  Composition  of  Butter  made  from  Raw  and  from 
Pasteurized  Cream. — The  following  table1  contains  averages  of 
the  per  cent  moisture,  salt,  curd  and  acid  in  76  churnings  of  fresh 
butter. 

Table  40. — Averages  of  Composition  of  76  Churnings  of  Butter 
Made  from  Raw  and  Pasteurized  Cream. 


Composition 
Per  Cent 

Raw 
Cream 
Butter 

Butter  Made  From  Pasteurized  Cream 

145°  F. 
20  Min. 

165°  F. 
Flash 

185°  F. 
Flash 

Moisture       .  .    . 

14.57 
2.05 
.51 
.11 

14.14 
2.42 
.50 
.09 

14.19 
2.40 
.48 
.08 

13.76 
2.24 
.45 
.08 

Salt                  .      .  . 

Curd    

Acid    . 

As  indicated  in  the  above  figures,  there  is  very  little  dif- 
ference in  composition  between  butter  made  from  raw  and 
from  pasteurized  cream.  The  slight  differences  agree,  in  direc- 
tion, with  the  great  bulk  of  data  available  on  this  subject  and 
with  the  general  conception  of  the  effect  of  pasteurization  on 
the  composition  of  the  butter.  Thus  the  moisture,  curd  and 
acid  are  somewhat  lower  in  the  pasteurized  cream  butter  than 
in  the  raw  cream  butter  and  the  highest  temperature  used  for 
pasteurization  shows  the  greatest  difference, 


OF  PASTEURIZATION  221 

The  decrease  in  moisture  is  in  all  probability  due  to  the 
more  contracted  and  dry  condition  of  constituents,  which  in  this 
condition  tend  to  diminish  their  power  to  hold  water. 

The  difference  in  curd  content  between  the  raw  cream  and 
the  pasteurized  cream  butter  is  very  slight.  The  curd  content 
of  butter  made  from  sour  pasteurized  cream  is  usually  from 
.1  to  .5  per  cent  lower  than  in  raw  cream  butter.  The  very 
slight  difference  shown  in  the  table  is  in  all  probability  due  to 
the  fact  that  all  the  butter  was  washed  thoroughly  with  two 
washings  of  water  and  that  the  removal  of  the  buttermilk  was 
facilitated  by  the  relatively  small  churnings. 

The  acid  content  of  the  butter  in  above  table  is  unusually 
low  and  this  again  suggests  that  the  butter  was  washed  thor- 
oughly. Generally  butter  contains  from  about  .1  to  .3  per  cent 
acid,  as  shown  in  the  averages  of  44  churnings  of  sour  cream 
tabulated  below. 

Table  41. — Acidity  of  Butter  Made  from  Raw  and  Pasteurized 
Cream.  Averages  of  44  Churnings. 


Per  Cent 

Raw  and  Pasteurized  Cream 

Acid 

in  Butter 

Raw  cream   

.3073 

Cream  pasteurized  at  145°  F.  (20  minutes)  

.2565 

Cream  pasteurized  at  165°  F.  flash..    .          .... 

.2295 

Cream  pasteurized  at  185°  F.  flash  

.2093 

Pasteurization  tends  to  lower  the  acidity  of  the  cream  and 
butter.  The  decrease  usually  averages  about  .05  per  cent,  but  may 
be  greater.  It  is  greater  in  the  flash  process  than  in  the  holding 
process  of  pasteurization.  The  lowering  of  the  acidity  due  to 
pasteurization  may  be  explained  to  be  caused  by  the  expulsion 
by  heat  of  carbon  dioxide  and  other  volatile  acids  which  may 
be  present  in  the  cream,  and  the  higher  the  temperature  of 
pasteurization,  the  more  complete  is  this  expulsion  and  there- 
fore the  greater  the  decrease  of  the  per  cent  acid  in  pasteur- 
ized cream  butter. 

The  influence  of  pasteurization  to  reduce  the  acidity  in 
cream  and  butter  must  of  necessity  largely  depend  on  the  con- 
dition of  the  cream.  The  carbon  dioxide  and  other  volatile 
acids  present  are,  in  the  main,  products  of  fermentation.  They 


222  AERATING  OR  BLOWING  CREAM 

are,  therefore,  present  to  a  greater  extent  in  intensely  fer- 
mented and  sour  cream  than  in  cream  of  good  quality  and  with 
low  acidity.  Hence  the  reduction  of  the  acidity  due  to  pasteur- 
ization must  be  greater  in  cream  of  poor  quality,  and  especially 
in  yeasty  cream,  than  in  cream  of  good  quality  and  cream  that 
comes  fresh  and  sweet  from  the  separator. 

AERATING    OR    BLOWING    CREAM. 

Purpose. — By  aeration  of  cream  is  understood  the  inten- 
tional and  systematic  exposure  of  the  cream  to  air.  The  pur- 
pose of  such  aeration  is  to  facilitate  the  escape  from  the  cream 
of  objectionable  volatile  substances,  gases,  that  harbor  unde- 
sirable odors  and  flavors.  In  short,  the  object  of  aeration  is 
to  improve  the  flavor  of  cream  and  butter. 

Methods. — The  aeration  may  be  accomplished  in  three 
different  manners,  i.  e.  1.  By  exposing  the  cream  in  a  thin 
layer  to  the  atmospheric  air.  2.  By  blowing  air  through  the 
cream.  3.  By  drawing  the  air  and  gases  out  of  the  cream  by 
suction. 

The  first  method  usually  consists  of  running  the  hot  cream 
from  the  pasteurizer  over  a  surface-coil  cooler.  The  cream 
flowing  over  the  cooler  in  a  very  thin  film,  conies  in  contact 
with  a  relatively  large  amount  of  air,  facilitating  the  escape 
^of  gases  and  objectionable  odors.  The  heat  of  the  pasteurized 
cream  further  enhances  the  expulsion  of  these  gases.  The  re- 
moval of  the  escaping  gases  may  be  further  hastened  by  the 
installation  of  a  ventilator  over  the  aerator-cooler  and  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  ventilator  may  be  augmented  by  equipping  it 
with  a  mechanical  fan.  In  this  form  of  aeration,  it  is  important 
that  the  atmosphere  in  which  the  cream  is  aerated  and  to  which 
it  is  exposed,  be  free  from  foul  odors  and  bacterial  pollution, 
otherwise  the  cream  will  absorb  these  odors  and  become  re- 
contaminated  with  germ  life. 

The  second  method  of  aeration,  the  blowing  of  air  through 
the  cream,  is  an  intensified  form  of  aeration.  Its  purpose  is 
to  not  only  bring  the  cream  in  contact  with  the  maximum 
amount  of  air,  but  to  cause  this  air  to  blow  through  the  cream 
and  thereby  mechanically  force  the  gases  out  of  the  cream. 
The  blowing  is  accomplished  by  the  use  of  a  centrifugal  fan. 


AERATING  OR  BLOWING  CREAM  223 

This  fan  draws  the  air  from  the  outside  of  the  factory  and 
pumps  it  through  the  cream.  In  order  to  insure  pure  air 
for  this  purpose,  the  air  is  drawn  through  absorbent  cotton, 
canvas  or  other  filtering  material,  usually  placed  in  a  funnel 
at  the  suction  end  of  the  air  pipe  on  top  of  the  roof.  This 
filter  removes  the  dust,  soot,  flies  and  other  impurities  in  the 
air.  From  this  funnel  the  air  is  generally  drawn  through  a 
water  bath,  preferably  lime  water,  for  additional  cleansing.  The 
lime  water  not  only  removes  dirt,  etc.,  but  also  absorbs  car- 
bon dioxide  and  other  gases,  some  of  which  may  contain  objec- 
tionable odors. 

From  the  lime  water  bath  the  air  is  blown  through  the 
cream  in  the  vat,  or  fore  warmer,  or  both,  through  perforated 
pipes  installed  in  the  bottom  of  the  vat.  In  some  of  these 
blowing  systems,  the  vat  is  closed  during  the  blowing  opera- 
tion and  a  second  pump  or  fan  draws  the  air  escaping  from 
the  cream  to  the  outside.  The  blowing  generally  occupies 
from  20  to  30  minutes.  In  some  creameries  the  cold  cream  is 
blown,  in  others  the  air  is  blown  through  the  hot  cream. 

In  the  third  method  of  aeration  the  cream  is  enclosed  in 
a  nearly  air-tight  chamber,  to  which  suction  is  applied,  sucking 
the  air  and  gases  present  in  the  cream  out  of  it.  This  method 
represents  a  partial  evacuation  of  the  air  in  the  cream. 

Effect  of  Aeration  on  Flavor  of  Cream  and  Butter. — There 
can  be  no  question  that  any  form  of  aeration,  assists  in  removing 
objectionable  gases,  odors  and  flavors,  that  may  be  present,  and 
therefore,  improves  the  flavor  of  the  cream  and  butter  to  that 
extent.  The  more  intimate  the  contact  of  the  cream  with  the 
air,  the  more  complete  is  the  removal  of  odors.  In  this 
respect,  therefore,  the  blowing  of  cream  is  a  more  effective 
method  of  aeration  than  the  mere  surface  exposure  of  the 
cream  to  the  air. 

Effect  of  Aeration  on  the  Keeping  Quality  of  Butter. — 
From,  the  standpoint  of  the  keeping  quality  of  the  butter,  any 
method  of  aeration,  that  mixes  air  into  the  cream,  is  positively 
objectionable.  The  newer  knowledge  of  butter  deterioration  is 
demonstrating  conclusively,  that  the  fundamental  agencies  that 
shorten  the  life  of  butter,  that  cause  it  to  deteriorate  and  to 
develop  flavor  defects  with  age,  are  intimately  associated  with 


224  AERATING  OR  BLOWING  CREAM 

the  oxidation  of  one  or  more  of  the  constituents  of  cream  and 
butter.  Atmospheric  air  is  an  active  oxidizing  agent.  Its 
presence  in  cream  and  in  butter,  hastens  deterioration,  and  the 
greater  the  amount  of  air  present,  the  more  rapid  and  the 
more  intense  the  destructive  action. 

To  run  the  hot  cream  over  a  surface  coil  cooler,  where  it 
is  freely  exposed  to  the  air,  is  detrimental  to  the  keeping  qual- 
ity of  the  resulting  butter.  The  damaging  action  of  the  air  in 
this  case  is  greatly  intensified  by  the  heat  of  the  cream,  and 
the  copper  of  the  aerator  over  which  the  cream  flows.  Heat 
alone  enhances  all  forms  of  oxidation.  The  heat  and  acid  of 
the  cream  act  on  the  copper  and  copper  is  a  most  active  oxi- 
dizer  and  catalizer.  Even  very  minute  quantities  of  copper 
salts  in  butter,  resulting  from  the  action  of  hot,  slightly  sour 
cream  in  the  presence  of  air,  have  a  very  intense  deteriorating 
effect  on  the  butter. 

To  blow  air  into  and  through  the  cream  obviously  in- 
fluences the  keeping  quality  in  a  similar  unfavorable  manner, 
and  if  the  cream  is  blown  while  hot,  the  action  is  correspond- 
ingly greater.  The  blowing  of  cream,  therefore,  is  -a  very 
questionable  expedient,  as  a  means  to  improve  the  permanent 
flavor  of  the  butter. 

These  facts  can  leave  but  little  doubt  that,  while  surface 
aeration  and  blowing  do  temporarily  improve  the  flavor  of 
cream  and  of  butter,  they  are  positively  dangerous  to  the  keep- 
ing quality  of  butter,  and  since  keeping  quality  is  the  crucial 
and  final  criterion  of  butter  acceptable  to  the  trade,  these  forms 
of  aeration  cannot  be  recommended  as  beneficial  processes  in 
the  manufacture  of  butter. 

The  drawing  of  air  out  of  the  cream,  on  the  other  hand, 
has  distinct  merits,  as  far  as  it  is  practicable.  It  not  only 
improves  its  flavor,  but  it  assists  in  removing  from  cream  one 
of  the  destructive  agents — air — and  thereby  tends  to  enhance 
the  stability  of  the  finished  product. 

If  it  were  mechanically  and  economically  feasible  to  handle 
the  cream  and  to  manufacture  the  butter  under  reduced  pres- 
sure, in  a  partial  vacuum,  the  keeping  quality  of  butter  would 
be  greatly  benefitted  and  such  a  process  of  so-called  aeration 
might  logically  be  looked  upon  as  the  last  word  on  ideal  butter 
manufacture. 


CREAM  RIPENING  225 

CHAPTER  IX. 

CREAM    RIPENING    AND    STARTER    MAKING. 
THE   RIPENING    OF   CREAM. 

Definition. — By  cream  ripening  is  generally  understood  the 
treatment  the  cream  receives  and  the  changes  which  it  under- 
goes in  flavor,  aroma  and  texture  from  the  time  it  leaves  the 
separator  until  it  reaches  the  churn.  These  changes  largely 
control  the  quality  of  the  resulting  butter,  with  reference  to 
flavor,  aroma  and  texture.  Under  present  conditions  and  tak- 
ing into  consideration  the  several  processes  to  which  cream  is 
subjected  in  the  modern  creamery,  this  broad  definition  is 
somewhat  misleading  and  should  be  modified.  Cream  ripening, 
strictly  speaking,  refers  to  the  souring  and  chilling  of  the 
cream  preparatory  to  churning. 

Contrary  to  popular  impression  the  practice  of  ripening 
cream  is  the  result  of  economic  expediency,  rather  than  of  a 
specific  discovery  or  invention,  or  of  careful  and  systematic 
planning  and  experimenting  for  the  attainment  of  an  important 
purpose.  Cream  ripening  began  in  the  early  days  of  butter 
manufacture  on  the  farm.  In  order  to  save  time  and  labor  the 
dairy  farmer  dispensed  with  the  task  of  churning  his  cream 
daily  and  adopted  the  practice  of  churning  the  cream  of  sev- 
eral days'  production  together.  In  those  days  the  creaming 
was  done  exclusively  by  the  gravity  system,  using  in  most 
cases  the  shallow-pan  method.  When  the  cream  was  skimmed 
off  it  was  already  slightly  sour  and  its  additional  holding  at 
temperatures  not  low  enough  to  check  bacterial  action  till 
churning  day,  caused  it  usually  to  be  quite  sour  and  ripe  by 
the  time  it  reached  the  churn.  A  further  reason  for  allowing 
the  cream  to  sour  was  that  this  sour  cream  churned  more 
readily  and  more  exhaustively  than  sweet  cream.  It  churned 
quicker  and  produced  more  butter. 

Some  of  the  butter  made  by  this  natural  ripening  process 
was  of  the  very  best  quality.  This  was  true  especially  where 
proper  attention  was  given  in  the  production  and  handling  of  the 
milk  and  cream,  to  cleanliness,  and  when  the  butter  was  thor- 
oughly washed  and  properly  worked.  Much  of  the  butter, 
however,  was  made  on  farms  where  these  precautions  were  not 


226  CREAM  RIPENING 

regularly  observed,  resulting  in  butter  of  poor  flavor  and  of 
inferior  keeping  quality.  But  this  butter  made  from  sour  cream 
showed  a  high  aroma  and  flavor  which  sweet  cream  butter  did 
not  possess.  The  consumer  became  accustomed  to  this  high 
flavor,  learned  to  like  it  and  gradually  demanded  it. 

In  order  to  satisfy  this  demand  the  souring  or  ripening  of 
cream  was  gradually  adopted  even  in  dairies  and  later  in  cream- 
eries where  the  cream  was  available  in  sweet  condition  and 
where  it  was  churned  daily.  As  the  fundamental  principles  of 
cream  ripening  became  better  understood,  and  with  the  help- 
ing hand  of  science,  the  process  of  cream  ripening  was  gradu- 
ally perfected,  eliminating  as  far  as  possible  some  of  the  agen- 
cies detrimental  to  good  butter,  and  intensifying  those  agencies 
which  became  known  to  produce  the  best  results.  In  this  evo- 
lution the  most  prominent  factors  that  assisted  in  the  improve- 
ment of  the  process  of  cream  ripening  and  of  the  quality  of 
the  resulting  butter  were,  the  advent  of  the  centrifugal  sepa- 
rator, which  gradually  replaced  the  gravity  can;  the  introduc- 
tion of  pasteurization  of  milk  or  cream,  which  removed  the 
great  majority  of  undesirable  bacteria  and  other  forms  of  germ 
life,  and  the  adoption  of  pure  culture  starters  which  made  pos- 
sible the  almost  exclusive  development  of  ferments  produc- 
ing the  desired  flavor  and  aroma. 

Purpose. — The  principal  objects  of  cream  ripening  as  now 
practiced  are:  1.  To  give  the  butter  the  desired  flavor,  aroma 
and  texture;  2.  to  produce  uniformity  of  quality  and  3.  to 
increase  the  exhaustiveness  of  churning. 

1.  To  Produce  Flavor  and  Aroma. — The  exact  and  specific 
agents  which  are  responsible  for  the  characteristic  and  desired 
butter  flavor  and  aroma  during  the  ripening  process,  have  not 
as  yet  been  conclusively  determined.  The  fact  that  milk  and 
cream,  when  souring  in  the  natural  way,  contain  very  greatly 
predominating  numbers  of  lactic  acid  bacteria,  especially  Strep- 
tococcus lacticus  and  Bacterium  lactis  acidi,  has  led  to  the 
assumption  that  these  species  of  lactic  acid  bacteria  play  an 
essential  part  in  the  production  of  the  characteristic  flavor  and 
aroma  in  butter.  This  has  been  further  borne  out  by  the  fact 
that  when  inoculated  into  sweet  cream  these  micro-organisms 


CREAM  RIPENING  227 

do,  under  proper  conditions  of  ripening,  produce  a  butter  of  a 
cleaner  flavor  and  aroma  and  of  better  keeping  quality,  than 
when  cream  is  permitted  to  sour  in  the  ordinary  way  and  with- 
out the  addition  of  a  pure  culture  of  these  organisms. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  generally  conceded  that  butter 
from  cream  in  which  the  promiscuous  assortment  of  organisms 
of  its  natural  bacterial  flora  has  been  largely  destroyed  by  pas- 
teurization, and  which  has  been  ripened  with  a  pure  culture 
starter  of  these  lactic  acid  bacteria,  has  a  milder  and  less  pro- 
nounced flavor  than  butter  made  from  cream  ripened  in  the 
natural  way.  Conn,  Weigmann,  Freudenreich,  Ademetz,  Mar- 
shall, Bosworth  and  other  investigators  have  succeeded  in 
isolating  species  of  bacteria,  yeast  and  molds,  capable  of  pro- 
ducing the  characteristic  and  desired  butter  flavors  to  a  very 
marked  degree.  Among  these  flavor-  and  aroma-microbes  were 
bacteria  of  the  coli  and  aerogenes  group,  also  peptonizing 
yeast  and  molds.  Some  of  these  specific  butterflavor-produc- 
ing  organisms  were  recommended  to  be  used  jointly  with  the 
real  lactic  acid  milk  bacteria  in  the  ripening  of  cream.  These 
findings  suggest  that  possibly  the  associative  action  of  one  or 
more  of  these  specific  aroma-producing  organisms  with  one  or 
both  of  the  lactic  acid  bacteria,  streptococcus  lacticus  and  Bac- 
terium lactis  acidi,  is  needed  to  produce  a  high  butter  flavor. 

Furthermore,  it  is  by  no  means  established  that  the  but- 
ter flavors  are  exclusively  of  bacterial  origin.  Experience  has 
amply  demonstrated  that  the  feed  which  the  cows  consume 
may  directly  or  indirectly  affect  the  flavor  of  the  butter.  Some 
of  the  aromatic  substances  coming  from  the  feed  may  pass 
into  the  milk  direct,  through  the  udder,  the  excreta,  or  the 
air,  as  completely  developed  substances  from  the  feed.  But  it 
is  equally  probable  that  they  are  separated  from  the  feed  and 
reach  the  udder  as  complex  and  but  slightly  aromatic  products 
from  which  volatile  and  aromatic  products  are  formed  in  the 
ripening  process  by  bacterial  decomposition.  In  this  latter  case 
the  micro-organisms  which  bring  about  these  decompositions  are 
therefore  aroma-producing  only  in  the  milk  and  cream  which 
contain  these  specific  materials,  but  not  in  all  milk  and  cream. 

The  period  of  lactation  of  the  cows  also  has  a  very  pro- 
nounced effect  on  the  presence  and  intensity  of  the  desirably 


228  CREAM  RIPKNING 

aroma  and  flavor  of  butter.  Thus  butter  from  cows  during  the 
first  two  to  three  months  of  lactation  invariably  shows  the 
desirable  flavor  and  aroma,  characteristic  of  good  butter,  very 
decidedly,  while  butter  from  cows  which  approach  the  latter 
stage  of  the  period  of  lactation  lacks  this  characteristic  butter 
flavor  and  is  prone  to  have  a  somewhat  stale  and  lifeless  taste. 
This  fact  is  explained  to  be  due  to  the  relatively  high  per  cent 
of  volatile  and  soluble  fats  in  milk  from  fresh  cows  and  the 
relatively  low  per  cent  of  these  same  fats  toward  the  end  of 
the  period  of  lactation. 

Inasmuch  as  the  lactic  acid  bacteria  which  have  been 
found  to  produce  a  clean  acid,  and  which  are  being  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  pure  starter  cultures  for  cream  ripening,  pro- 
duce only  a  mild  butter  flavor  and  aroma,  it  might  be  of  much 
importance  to  the  butter  industry  to  find  a  butter-aroma  organ- 
ism capable  through  joint  action  with  the  lactic  acid  bacteria, 
to  produce  a  butter  with  a  high  characteristic  butter  flavor 
and  aroma. 

So  far,  all  known  attempts  in  the  manufacture  of  butter 
on  a  commercial  scale,  of  developing  starters  and  ripening 
cream  through  aosociative  bacterial  action  have  failed  to  pro- 
duce the  desired  object.  The  differences  in  temperature  and 
other  requirements  between  different  groups  of  micro-organ- 
isms have  made  difficult  the  joint  development  of  these  organ- 
isms in  their  proper  proportion  arid  have  made  unsuitable  this 
method  of  cream  ripening  on  a  commercial  scale.  Experience 
has  also  demonstrated  that  butter  with  a  high  aroma  and  flavor 
is  generally  of  relatively  low  keeping  quality.  Such  butter 
tends  to  "go  off"  in  flavor  comparatively  rapidly  and  is  particu- 
larly unsuited  for  storage  purposes. 

These  reasons  largely  explain  why  we  recognize  today  only 
certain  lactic  acid  bacteria  which  may  be  used  to  advantage  in 
cream  ripening.  The  most  prominent  of  these  are  Streptococcus 
lacticus  and  Bacterium  lactis  acidi. 

2.  To  Produce  Uniform  Quality. — It  is  obvious  from  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  effect  of  cream  ripening  on  the  flavor  of  the  butter 
that  in  the  absence  of  a  systematic  method  of  ripening  the  cream, 
the  production  of  a  uniform  flavor  from  day  to  day  and  season  to 


CREAM  RIPENING  229 

season  is  difficult.  If  the  fermentation  of  the  cream  during  the 
ripening  process  is  at  all  responsible  for  the  flavor  of  the  result- 
ing butter,  the  systematic  use  of  specific  bacteria  in  the  cream 
ripening  process  is  bound  to  greatly  assist  in  securing  a  uniform 
flavor  in  the  butter.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  no  attempt  is  made  to 
control  the  bacterial  flora  of  the  cream  and  its  development,  either 
by  pasteurization  which  destroys  most  of  the  organisms  present, 
or  by  ripening  with  pure  cultures  of  lactic  acid  bacteria,  or  by 
both,  the  butter  maker  is  powerless  to  regulate  the  flavor  in 
the  finished  product  and  the  flavor  of  the  butter  will  largely 
vary  with  the  character  of  the  cream  that  he  receives. 

3.  To  Increase  the  Exhaustiveness  of  Churning. — Other 
conditions  being  the  same,  the  churn  yield  from  a  given  quantity 
of  butter  fat  depends  on  the  exhaustiveness  of  the  churning.  The 
more  exhaustive  the  churning,  the  less  of  the  butter  fat  will  be 
lost  in  the  buttermilk  and  the  larger  will  be  the  amount  of  butter 
made. 

Experience  has  amply  demonstrated  that  sour  or  ripened 
cream  will  churn  out  more  readily  and  more  exhaustively  than 
sweet  cream.  This  means  less  labor  and  time  required  to  com- 
plete the  churning  and  more  butter  made  from  sour  cream  than 
from  the  same  amount  of  butter  fat  in  sweet  cream.  This  fact 
is  due  to  the  difference  in  the  viscosity  between  sweet  and  sour 
cream.  Sweet  cream  is  of  relatively  viscous  consistency  due 
to  the  colloid  condition  of  the  casein.  The  viscosity  minimizes 
the  concussion  to  which  the  fat  globules  are  exposed  during 
the  churning  process,  and  therefore  delays  the  formation  of 
butter  granules.  For  the  same  reason,  also,  a  relatively  large 
proportion  of  the  small  fat  globules  is  not  churned  out  at  the 
time  the  churn  is  stopped  and  there  is  excessive  loss  of  fat 
in  the  buttermilk. 

In  the  ripened  cream  the  viscosity  is  very  materially  re- 
duced. The  acid  alters  the  physical  condition  of  the  casein, 
and  other  nitrogenous  bodies  precipitating  them  into  finely 
divided  particles.  This  changes  the  mechanical  condition  of 
the  cream  from  a  viscous  body  to  a  granular,  friable  body.  In 
this  sour  cream  the  fat  globules  encounter  less  resistance  and 
have  greater  freedom  to  respond  to  the  agitation  caused  by  the 


230  CREAM  RIPENING 

revolving  churn.  They  strike  each  other  and  the  sides  of  the 
churn  oftener  and  with  greater  force.  Their  equilibrium  is  dis- 
turbed more  readily  and  the  formation  of  butter  granules  is 
facilitated,  shortening  the  time  required  for  churning,  churn- 
ing out  more  completely,  and  avoiding  excessive  loss  of  fat  in 
the  buttermilk. 

The  excessive  loss  of  fat  incurred  by  churning  sweet 
cream  may  be  avoided  by  lowering  the  churning  temperature. 
The  lower  temperature  retards  the  churning  and  gives  the 
smaller  fat  globules  which  are  slow  in  uniting,  a  better  oppor- 
tunity to  churn  out  before  the  churn  is  stopped. 

Effect  of  Cream  Ripening  on  the  Keeping  Quality  of 
Butter. — The  relation  of  ripening  of  cream  to  the  keeping  quality 
of  butter  has  not  been  clearly  understood  for  many  years  and 
even  to  this  day  the  general  impression  prevails  that  cream 
ripening  improves  the  keeping  quality  of  the  butter.  Thus 
McKay  and  Larsen,1  Meyer,2  and  Michels3  emphasize  the  im- 
provement of  the  keeping  quality  of  butter^as  one  of  the  objects 
of  cream  ripening. 

There  are  no  experimental  data  on  record  that:show  that  the 
ripening  of  cream  ever  improved  the  keeping  quality  of  butter, 
but  there  is  plenty  of  evidence,  both  experimental  and  commer- 
cial, that  the  ripening  of  cream  is  a  distinct  detriment  to  the 
keeping  quality  of  butter. 

The  "theory"  that  cream  ripening  improves  the  keeping 
quality  of  butter  originated  with  the  advent  of  the  use  of  pure 
culture  starters.  Lactic  acid  bacteria  which  produced  the  de- 
sired flavor  and  did  not  noticeably  decompose  the  protein  of 
cream,  were  thought  to  be  favorable  to  keeping  quality.  Their 
predominance  in  ripened  cream,  retarding  or  inhibiting  the  de- 
velopment of  micro-organisms  of  the  liquefying  and  putrefac- 
tive species,  was  considered  a  partial  protection  against  undesir- 
able changes  and  fermentations  which  give  rise  to  objection- 
able flavors,  and  the  lactic  acid  thus  produced  in  itself  was 
thought  to  have  a  sufficient  antiseptic  effect  to  control,  if  not 
inhibit,  the  growth  of  the  bacteria  known  to  produce  objec- 
tionable flavors  and  odors. 


1  McKay  and  Larsen,  Principles  and  Practices  of  Buttermaking,  1915,  p.  192. 

2  Martin  H.  Meyer,  Modern  Buttermaking,   1910,  p.   74. 
*  John  Michels,  Creamery  Buttermaking,  1914,  p.   46, 


CREAM  RIPENING  231 

This  was  the  bacteriologists'  theory.  Within  its  own  limi- 
tations it  was  perfectly  natural  and  reasonable,  but  as  far  as 
its  relation  to  the  keeping  quality  of  butter  is  concerned,  it  was 
utterly  erroneous.  He  considered  good  flavor  of  fresh  butter 
and  keeping  quality  synonymous. 

High  flavor  and  keeping  quality  are  not  synonymous,  but 
they  are  positively  antagonistic  to  one  another.  One  and  the 
same  churning  of  butter  may  have  either,  high  flavor  or  keep- 
ing quality,  but  it  cannot  have  both.  Cream  ripening  means 
fermentation.  High  flavor,  which  is  produced  by  cream  ripen- 
ing, then,  is  the  result  of  a  partial  decomposition  of  one  or  more 
of  the  constituents  of  cream  and  which  subsequently,  become 
constituents  of  the  butter.  The  deterioration  of  butter  with  age 
also  is  the  result  of  decomposition  of  one  or  more  of  its  con- 
stituents. 

Cream  ripening,  therefore,  represents  the  first  stages  of 
the  decomposition  of  one -or  more  of  the  constituents  which  sub- 
sequently make  up  the  composition  of  butter.  It  so  happens 
that  the  changes  resulting  from  this  early  and  partial  decomposi- 
tion, caused  by  the  ripening  of  cream,  yield  flavors  that  are 
desired.  But  when  this  decomposition  goes  beyond  a  certain 
stage,  flavors  are  produced  that  are  objectionable  and  which  are 
recognized  as  a  deterioration  of  the  butter. 

Cream  that  is  ripened  sufficiently  to  give  butter  a  very 
pronounced,  high  flavor,  produces  butter  that,  when  taken  from 
the  churn,  represents  a  product  in  which  the  flavor-producing 
decomposition  has  been  carried  to  the  very  limit  of  changes  that 
are  capable  of  producing  good  flavor.  But  this  decomposition 
does  not  stop  at  the  churn,  it  continues,  only  instead  of  going 
on  producing  desired  flavors,  these  further  changes  yield  now 
objectionable  flavors,  the  butter  deteriorates.  Hence  butter  so 
made,  has  reached  the  peak  of  quality  at  the  churn,  it  has  at- 
tained the  very  top  of  desired  flavor  and  any  further  changes 
which  even  a  few  weeks  of  age  are  bound  to  bring  about,  place 
it  on  the  tobbogan,  it  cannot  change  further  without  deteriorat- 
ing, it  will  not  stay  inert,  because  the  changes  once  started  must 
go  on.  Cream  ripening,  therefore,  not  only  does  not  improve 
the  keeping  quality  of  butter,  it  actually  tends  to  destroy  it. 


232  CREAM  RIPENING 

On  the  other  hand,  if  butter  is  made  from  sweet  or  only 
slightly  ripened  cream,  its  flavor  is  mild,  the  decomposition  has 
been  only  slight.  When  this  butter  is  taken  from  the  churn, 
the  changes  which  are  capable  of  developing  good  flavor  have 
not  reached  the  limit.  Further  changes  do  not  produce  im- 
mediate deterioration,  the  top  has  not  been  reached,  and  the 
development  of  good  flavor  can  continue  through  a  consider- 
able distance  of  changes  and  for  a  considerable  length  of  time, 
before  the  desired  flavor  yields  to  objectionable  flavor  and 
deterioration.  Therefore,  butter  made  from  sweet  or  only 
slightly  ripened  cream,  has  relatively  good  keeping  quality,  other 
details  of  the  process  of  manufacture  and  quality  of  the  original 
cream  being  the  same. 

Again,  the  theory  that  the  lactic  acid  produced  during  the 
process  of  cream  ripening  exerts  a  favorable  influence  on  the 
keeping  quality  of  butter  is  not  well  founded.  It  has  gained 
considerable  credence  because  of  the  fact  that  high  acid,  such 
as  is  found  in  ripened  cream,  produces  an  unfavorable  medium 
for  many  of  the  objectionable  bacteria  present  in  the  cream, 
and  therefore  retards  or  inhibits  their  destructive  action.  This 
argument  permits  of  consideration  only  when  confined  to  the 
cream.  In  the  finished  butter,  made  from  ripened  cream,  the 
percent  acid  is  too  low,  ranging  usually  between  .15  and  .35 
percent,  to  exert  any  appreciable  retarding  action  on  germ  life. 
From  the  standpoint  of  the  biological  effect  of  the  lactic  acid 
resulting  from  cream  ripening,  therefore,  it  is  highly  improb- 
able that  the  ripening  of  cream  is  capable  of  benefitting  the 
keeping  quality  of  butter. 

On  the  other  hand,  even  the  slight  increase  in  the  acidity 
of  butter  made  from  ripened  cream,  through  chemical  action,  has 
a  very  marked  detrimental  effect  on  the  keeping  quality  of  the  but- 
ter. It  appears  that  acid  is  one  of  the  essential  agents,  in  the  com- 
bination of  conditions  that  reduce  the  resistance  of  butter  against 
the  deteriorating  influence  of  age,  and  that  causes  the  develop- 
ment of  such  off-flavors  as  storage  flavor,  oily  flavor,  metallic 
flavor,  fishy  flavor,  etc.,  as  discussed  in  Chapter  XVII  on  "Butter 
Defects." 

The  fact  that  the  changes  brought  about  in  sour  cream, 
whether  souring  be  due  to  natural  causes  or  to  artificial  ripen- 


CREAM  RIPENING  233 

ing,  for  the  development  of  flavor,  are  detrimental  to  the  keep- 
ing quality  of  the  butter  has  been  conclusively  established,  both 
experimentally  and  in  practical  buttermaking,  although  the 
teaching  and  practice  of  churning  cream  at  a  low  acidity  are 
far  from  being  generally  accepted  as  yet  in  the  creamery  world. 

H.  J.  Credicott1,  proprietor  of  the  Freeport  Creamery,  Free- 
port,  111.,  and  formerly  buttermaker  in  Minnesota,  and  later 
butter  expert  for  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  was  the 
first  exponent  of  sweet-cream  churning,  who  successfully  manu- 
factured butter  from  sweet  cream  without  ripening,  after  the 
practice  of  ripening  cream  had  been  generally  adopted  in  this 
country.  McKay2  and  Hunziker3  first  demonstrated  methods 
and  the  advantages  of  reducing  the  acidity  in  sour  cream  for 
buttermaking. 

Rogers4  as  the  result  of  an  extensive  investigation  of  the 
causes  of  fishy  flavor  in  butter,  states  that  "in  all  cases  in  which 
the  records  were  complete,  it  was  found  that  those  experimental 
butters  which  became  fishy  were  made  from  high-acid  cream, 
though  cream  with  high  acidity  did  not  uniformly  develop  fishi- 
ness.  Rogers  and  Gray5  found  more  rapid  deterioration  of  but- 
ter made  from  high-acid  cream  than  from  sweet  cream,  and  they 
conclude  that  the  acid  developed  normally  in  the  cream  by  the 
action  of  lactic  acid  bacteria,  or  added  directly  to  the  cream 
in  the  form  of  pure  acid,  brings  about,  or  assists  in  bringing 
about,  a  slow  decomposition  of  one  or  more  of  the  labile  com- 
pounds of  which  butter  is  largely  composed;  and  Dyer6  dem- 
onstrated that  "the  production  of  off-flavors,  so  commonly  met 
with  in  cold  storage  butter,  is  attributed  to  a  chemical  change 
expressed  through  a  slow  oxidation,  progressing  in  some  one 
or  more  of  the  non-fatty  substances  occurring  in  buttermilk, 

1  Credicott,  Address  at  First  National  Dairy  Show,   Chicago,  1906. 

2  McKay,    Experiments   in   Neutralizing   Sour   Cream   for   Buttermaking,    at 
Iowa  Dairy  School,   1906,   Results  not  published. 

«  Hunziker,       Experiments  and  Commercial  Practice,  at  Purdue  University 
Creamery,   1906—1916,   Results  not  published. 

Hunziker,  Address  at  National  Conference  of  Allied  Dairy  Interests, 
Washington,  D.  C.  1916. 

Hunziker,  Spitzer  &  Mills,  Pasteurization  of  Sour,  Farm^Skimmed  Cream 
for  Buttermaking,  Purdue  Bulletin  203,  1917. 

Hunziker,  The  Neutralization  of  Cream,  Address  American  Association  of 
Creamery  Butter  Manufacturers,  Chicago,  1918. 

*  Rogers,  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter,   U.   S.  Dept.   of  Agr.   B.A.I.   Circular  146, 
1909. 

6  Rogers  and  Gray,  The  Influence  of  Acid  of  Cream  on  the  Flavor  of  Butter, 
U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.  B.A.I.  Bulletin  114,  1909. 

6  Dyer,    Progressive    Oxidation    of   Cold    Storage   Butter,   Journal  Agr.    Re- 
search,  Vol.   VI.   No.   24.   1916. 


234  CREAM  RIPENING 

and  that  the  extent  of  this  chemical  change  is  directly  propoi- 
tional  to  the  quantity  of  acid  present  in  the  cream  from  which 
the  butter  was  made." 

In  the  presence  of  the  above  facts  it  appears  safe  to  con- 
clude that  the  ripening  of  cream  does  not  enhance  the  keeping 
quality  of  butter,  that  the  churning  of  sour  cream  is  distinctly 
injurious  to  keeping  quality,  that  butter  that  is  not  consumed 
soon  after  it  is  manufactured,  or  butter  intended  for  storage 
purposes,  should  be  made  from  unripened  cream  or  from  cream 
in  which  the  acidity  is  low,  and  that  cream  ripening  is  justifi- 
able only  in  the  case  of  butter  that  is  intended  for  immediate 
consumption. 

Natural  Ripening  of  Cream. — The  natural  ripening  of  cream 
consists  of  allowing  the  cream  to  sour  without  the  addition  of  a 
starter.  This  is  the  oldest  method  of  cream  ripening,  the  cream 
is  held  at  a  temperature  favorable  for  bacterial  action  until  it 
is  sour.  The  character  of  fermentation  which  occurs  and  the 
quality  of  the  resulting  butter  depend  largely  on  the  bacterial 
flora  of  the  cream  after  it  leaves  the  separator,  or  after  it  ar- 
rives at  the  creamery  and  this  in  turn  will  depend  on  the  sani- 
tary care  which  the  milk  and  cream  receive  on  the  farm,  on  the 
age  of  the  cream  and  on  the  particular  types  of  bacteria  which 
may  predominate  in  any  given  locality  and  at  any  given  season 
of  the  year.  With  cream  that  is  clean  and  that  has  been  produced 
under  highly  sanitary  conditions,  natural  ripening  may  produce 
very  good  butter.  Where  little  or  no  attention  is  given  to  clean- 
liness, contamination  of  the  cream  with  relatively  large  num- 
bers of  undesirable  species  of  micro-organisms  is  unavoidable. 
When  such  cream  is  allowed  to  'ripen  in  the  natural  way,  un- 
desirable fermentations  are  prone  to  gain  the  ascendency,  re- 
sulting in  butter  of  inferior  flavor  and  low  keeping  properties. 

Inasmuch  as  the  natural  ripening  process  affords  no  facilities 
for  controlling  fermentations,  the  product  usually  also  lacks  in 
uniformity  of  quality.  The  bacterial  flora  of  the  cream  varies 
not  only  with  the  individual  care  which  each  lot  of  cream  re- 
ceives on  the  farm,  but  also  with  the  season  of  the  year.  Thus 
in  early  summer  when  the  cows  are  on  pasture,  conditions  are 
favorable  to  a  preponderance  of  lactic  acid  bacteria  to  the  partial 
exclusion  of  peptonizing  and  putrefactive  germs,  while  in  late 


CREAM  RIPENING  235 

fall,  winter  and  early  spring,  when  the  cows  in  the  central  and 
northern  dairy  belt  are  confined  to  the  stable  and  receive  dry 
feed,  there  is  a  marked  increase  in  the  group  of  putrefactive 
microbes  which  tend  to  impair  the  flavor  and  shorten  the  life 
of  the  butter,  unless  their  action  is  retarded  by  pasteurization 
or  possibly  by  the  addition  of  lactic  acid  bacteria  to  the  cream. 

At  best,  the  results  from  the  natural  ripening  process  are 
uncertain.  Where  butter  of  uniformly  high  quality  is  desired 
the  natural  ripening  cannot  be  recommended  and  it  is  justifi- 
able only,  if  at  all,  when  butter  is  made  on  too  small  a  scale 
to  warrant  the  extra  labor  and  expense  of  handling  pure  culture 
starters,  as  is  the  case  on  the  majority  of  farms  making  farm 
dairy  butter  and  where  the  milk  and  cream  are  produced  under 
highly  sanitary  conditions. 

While,  under  favorable  conditions,  natural  ripening  may 
give  butter  a  flavor  more  attractive  to  the  palate  of  the  consumer 
than  butter  made  from  sweet  cream,  the  keeping  quality  of 
such  butter  is  prone  to  be  low  and  would  be  materially  improved 
by  not  ripening  such  cream  at  all. 

Artificial  Ripening  of  Cream. — By  artificial  cream  ripen- 
ing is  understood  the  souring  of  the  cream  with  the  aid  of  a 
starter.  The  term  starter  includes  a  variety  of  materials,  such 
as  buttermilk,  sour  cream  from  the  previous  churning,  sour 
milk  and  skim  milk  ripened  by  spontaneous  souring  and  sour 
milk,  cream,  diluted  condensed  milk,  or  redissolved  skim  milk 
powder,  ripened  by  the  addition  of  a  pure  culture  of  lactic  acid 
bacteria. 

The  desirability  of  the  use  of  buttermilk  and  sour  cream 
for  starter,  depends  very  largely  on  the  degree  of  purity  of  the 
previous  batch  of  cream.  If  the  cream  shows  a  pure,  mild  acid, 
the  resulting  buttermilk  may  be  reasonably  safe  to  use  as  starter, 
provided  that  the  cream  was  not  overripe  and  the  churn  at  the 
time  of  churning  was  in  good  sanitary  condition.  Buttermilk 
from  overripe  cream  and  from  cream  lacking  in  clean  acid  flavor 
is  unsafe.  Its  use  is  likely  to  propagate,  in  the  next  lot  of 
cream,  the  very  fermentations  which  are  to  be  avoided. 

Sour  cream,  if  of  a  clean  acid  may  prove  beneficial  in  the 
absence  of  a  better  starter.  In  most  cases,  however,  its  use  is 


236  CREAM  RIPENING 

not  to  be  recommended,  it  has  the  same  objections  as  the  use 
of  buttermilk.  Then,  again,  the  butterfat  as  well  as  the  non-fatty 
constituents  in  this  sour  cream  are  thus  exposed  to  a  double 
ripening  period;  this  is  considered  undesirable  because  of  the 
possible  action  of  the  acid  on  these  cream  constituents,  lower- 
ing their  resistance  to  oxidation,  if  not  actually  starting  oxida- 
tion, or  cleavage  by  hydrolysis,  thereby  jeopardizing  the  quality 
of  the  butter.  . 

Spontaneously  soured  milk  or  skim  milk  starter  is  pref- 
erable to  either  buttermilk  or  sour  cream,  provided  that  in  its 
preparation  a  high  sanitary  quality  of  raw  material,  milk  or 
skim  milk,  has  been  selected.  Otherwise,  the  ripening  of  cream 
by  the  use  of  such  starters  may  be  no  better  than  the  natural 
ripening  of  cream. 

Milk  or  skim  milk  starters  and  possibly  starters  made  from 
condensed  and  powdered  milk,  soured  with  pure  cultures  of 
lactic  acid  bacteria,  are  the  only  really  dependable  starters  and 
it  is  the  use  of  this  group  of  starters  which  will  be  exclusively 
considered  in  the  discussion  of  artificial  cream  ripening. 

The  ripening  of  cream  by  means  of  pure  culture  starters  is 
a  practice  which  has  come  into  more  general  use  in  this  country 
only  within  the  last  score  of  years.  Its  application  is  largely 
the  result  of  investigations  of  Storch.1 

Artificial  cream  ripening  may  be  divided  into  two  classes, 
namely,  ripening  by  the  addition  of  a  sufficient  amount  of 
starter  to  raw  cream  to  control  fermentations,  and  2.  ripening 
of  cream  in  which  the  majority  of  bacteria  and  other  ferments 
have  been  destroyed  by  pasteurization  and  which,  after  cooling 
has  been  inoculated  with  a  lactic  acid  starter. 

Either  of  these  methods  is  preferable  to  the  natural  ripen- 
ing process,  inasmuch  as  they  both  assist  in  regulating  fermenta- 
tion by  accelerating  the  development  of  desirable  lactic  bacteria 
to  the  partial*  exclusion  of  other  organisms.  In  the  case  of 
artificial  ripening  of  raw  cream,  the  control  of  the  fermentations 
may,  however,  be  less  complete  and  the  final  results  less  cer- 
tain than  when  the  cream  is  first  pasteurized.  The  raw  cream 
has  a  mixed  flora  which  may  consist  of  both  desirable  and  un- 

1  Storch,  Eighteenth  Annual  Report  of  Danish  Experiment  Station,  1890. 


CREAM  RIPENING  237 

desirable  bacteria.  Unless  the  starter  added  is  an  active  one, 
and  the  cream  is  of  relatively  good  quality  the  benefits  of  arti- 
ficial ripening  are  prone  to  be  very  diminutive.  In  the  case  of 
sour  gathered  cream,  nothing  is  gained  by  further  ripening  un- 
less possibly  here  neutralization  is  resorted  to.  In  this  kind 
of  cream  the  fats  and  the  curd  have  already  been  exposed  to 
acid  for  an  excessive  length  of  time  and  further  ripening  will 
tend  to  weaken  their  resistance  just  that  much  more,  invit- 
ing with  greater  certainty  their  partial  decomposition. 

If  the  cream  is  properly  pasteurized  before  the  starter  is 
added  the  fermentations  that  occur  during  the  cream  ripening 
period  can  be  controlled  most  readily,  provided,  of  course,  that 
the  operator  understands  the  fundamental  requirements  for  re- 
lative optimum  development  of  the  lactic  acid  organisms  and 
has  proper  facilities  in  the  way  of  temperature  control.  The 
artificial  ripening  of  pasteurized  cream  is,  from  the  bacteriolog- 
ical point  of  view,  the  most  nearly  ideal  method  of  cream  ripen- 
ing. In  pasteurized  cream  the  bacterial  count  of  all  bacteria  has 
been  reduced  to  a  relatively  low  figure,  approximately  to  one- 
tenth  of  one  per  cent  of  their  original  number.  The  cream 
furnishes  therefore  an  ideal  seed  bed  for  the  lactic  acid  starter, 
and  the  desirable  bacteria,  added  in  the  form  of  a  pure  culture 
starter,  have  a  free  and  unhindered  field  for  rapid  development. 

Here  again  it  should  be  understood  that  the  better  the 
quality  of  the  cream,  the  better  and  the  more  uniform  will  be 
the  results  of  the  ripening  process.  The  ordinary  run  of  gathered 
cream,  such  as  is  received  at  the  centralized  creamery,  averages 
possibly  about  from  50,000,000  to  500,000,000  bacteria  per  cubic 
centimeter.  Assuming  that  the  pasteurization  efficiency,  or  germ- 
killing  efficiency  be  99.9  per  cent,  which  is  very  good  under 
average  commercial  conditions,  there  would  still  be  left  in  the 
cream  50,000  to  500,000  bacteria  per  cubic  centimeter.  Since 
a  considerable  proportion  of  the  micro-organisms  which  survive 
belong  to  the  group  of  undesirable  or  harmful  types,  it  is 
obvious  that  the  development  of  undesirable  fermentations  dur- 
ing the  ripening  process  is  by  no  means  entirely  eliminated,  in 
spite  of  pasteurization,  and  that  the  otherwise  beneficial  results 
of  artificial  ripening  are  prone  to  be  partly  paralyzed. 


238  CREAM  RIPENING 

Temperature  of  the  Cream  for  Ripening. — Bacteriologically, 
the  best  temperature  for  ripening  cream  is  that  at  which  the 
desirable  lactic  acid  bacteria  develop  more  readily  than  any  other 
type  or  species  of  micro-organisms.  The  optimum  temperature 
for  lactic  acid  bacteria  lies  within  the  range  of  90  to  100°  F. 
This  temperature,  however,  is  most  favorable  also  to  the  growth 
of  many  species  of  organisms  harmful  to  the  quality  of  butter, 
such  as  those  belonging  to  the  Bacillus  coli  group,  the  aerogenes 
group,  and  certain  species  of  yeast  and  molds,  etc.  For  this 
reason  these  high  temperatures,  90  to  100°  F.,  are  unsuitable 
for  the  ripening  of  cream. 

On  the  other  hand,  experience  has  shown  that  a  tem- 
perature of  from  60  to  70°  F.  permits  of  reasonably  rapid  develop- 
ment of  the  lactic  acid  bacteria  while  such  temperatures  are  too 
low  to  give  most  of  the  harmful  species  an  opportunity  to  gain 
the  ascendency.  Hence  this  lower  range  of  temperatures,  60  to 
70°  F.,  has  been  generally  adopted  as  the  proper  ripening  tem- 
perature. In  summer  when  the  atmospheric  temperature  is  rela- 
tively high  and  other  conditions  are  comparatively  favorable  for 
rapid  acid  development,  the  cream  is  preferably  ripened  at  60 
to  65°  F.  In  winter  when  the  atmospheric  temperature  is  rela- 
tively low  and  other  conditions  present  tend  to  retard  lactic  acid 
fermentation,  the  cream  is  preferably  ripened  at  65  to  70°  F. 

Aside  from  the  fact  that  relatively  high  ripening  tempera- 
tures invite  the  development  and  domination  of  undesirable  bac- 
teria, such  as  the  species  of  the  Bacillus  coli  and  the  aerogenes 
group,  etc.,  at  the  expense  of  the  pure  lactic  acid  ferments,  they 
may  also  prove  harmful  to  the  texture  and  body  of  the  butter, 
causing  the  butter  to  be  soft  and  weak  in  body  and  of  a  salvy 
texture.  All  of  these  phenomena  indicate  unmistakably  the 
danger  of  ripening  the  cream  at  high  temperatures.  The  un- 
favorable effect  of  high  ripening  temperature  is  more  pronounced 
in  the  case  of  cream  of  a  poor  quality  than  with  cream  of  a  high 
degree  of  purity. 

In  more  recent  years  many  of  the  most  observant  butter 
makers  are  leaning  towards  low-temperature  ripening  and  many 
creameries  have  adopted  the  practice  of  ripening  their  cream  at 
temperatures  ranging  from  48  to  55°  F.  This  practice  is  rec- 
ommended especially  where  a  rather  sour  cream  is  received, 


CRSAM  RIPENING  239 

such  as  is  the  case  in  gathered  cream  creameries  all  over  the 
country,  if  such  cream  must  be  ripened.  Its  advantages  are,  that 
most  of  the  undesirable  fermentations  are  held  in  check  and 
that  the  resulting  body  of  the  butter  is  firm  and  free  from  weak- 
ness. The  retardation  of  the  acid  development  at  these  low  tem- 
peratures may  be  materially  overcome  by  the  use  of  a  larger 
amount  of  starter  (See  Amount  of  Starter  to  Add  to  Cream, 
page  242.) 

Control  of  Ripening  temperature. — If  the  process  of  cream 
ripening  is  to  be  successful  it  is  essential  that  the  operator  have 
as  complete  control  over  the  temperature  of  the  cream  as  pos- 
sible. This  is  necessary,  not  only  in  order  to  maintain  a  uniform 
temperature  during  the  ripening  process  proper,  but  especially 
also  in  order  to  cool  the  cream  promptly  and  properly  as  soon 
as  the  desired  degree  of  acidity  has  been  reached.  The  absence 
of  such  facilities  may  cause  exposure  of  the  cream  to  too  high 
ripening  temperature  and  the  over-ripening  of  the  cream,,  both 
of  which  jeopardize  the  flavor  and  body  of  the  butter. 

Ripening  Vats. — The  essentials  for  adequate  facilities  for 
regulating  the  temperature  of  the  cream  are  equipment  to  permit 
exposure  of  the  cream  over  a  relatively  large  area  of  heating 
and  cooling  surface  and  an  adequate  supply  of  an  efficient  cool- 
ing medium,  such  as  cold  water,  ice  water  or  brine. 

In  order  to  increase  the  tempering  capacity  of  the  cream 
ripening  vat,  the  vat  must  be  equipped  with  an  agitator  that 
brings  large  volumes  of  the  cream  in  direct  contact  with  the  heat- 
ing or  cooling  surface.  For  this  purpose  there  are  now  in  use 
cream  ripening  vats  with  coil  or  disc  agitators,  the  heating  or 
cooling  medium  passing  through  the  revolving  agitator.  These 
agitator  vats  are  a  great  improvement  over  the  old  jacketed 
ripening  vat  without  agitator,  from  the  standpoint  of  heat  control. 
One  seriously  objectionable  feature  of  most  of  these  ripening 
vats  with  disc  or  coil  agitators  is  that  the  bearings  and  stuffing 
boxes  of  their  axis  are  submerged  in  the  cream  and  some  cream 
is  bound  to  enter  these  glands,  where  it  is  ground  to  grease.  The 
mechanical  effect  of  this  alone  is  undesirable  and  the  lodging  of 
the  cream  in  these  friction  places  is  highly  unsanitary  and  con- 
ducive to  contaminating  the  cream  with  undesirable  ferments.  In 


240  CREAM  RIPENING 

this  respect,  vats  equipped  with  agitators  of  horizontal  or  vertical 
motion  are  preferable  to  the  rotary  agitators,  such  as  the  discs 
and  horizontal  coil,  but  the  former  are  slower  in  their  tempering 
action  than  the  latter.  There  are  some  coil  vats  on  the  market 
now  in  which  the  coil  is  vertically  suspended,  removing  the  glands 
and  bearings  entirely  from  contact  with  the  cream. 

Effect  of  Copperlined  Vats  on  Quality  of  Butter. — From 
the  standpoint  of  material  of  construction  it  should  be  thor- 
oughly understood,  that  the  cream  ripening  vats,  now  in  gen- 
eral use  in  this  country,  are  unsuitable  and  highly  objection- 
able, because  the  metal,  copper,  with  which  they  are  lined,  con- 
stitutes one  of  the  most  active  agencies  that  invites  chemical 
decomposition  of  one  or  more  of  the  constituents  of  cream  and 
butter  and  thereby  impairs  the  flavor  and  deteriorates  the  keep- 
ing quality  of  butter,  as  has  been  conclusively  shown  by  Hun- 
ziker  and  Hosman1  who  demonstrated  that  copper,  alloys  of 
copper  such  as  brass  and  german  silver,  and  copper  salts,  acting 
as  powerful-oxygen-carriers  and  catalizers,  are  capable  of  intro- 
ducing oxidation  in  butter  that  is  most  disastrous  to  its  flavor 
and  keeping  quality.  Iron  also  has  a  specific  catalytic  action 
which  aids  the  oxidation  process,  but  in  the  case  of  iron  bases 
and  salts  this  action  is  relatively  slight.  Tin  and  nickel  are 
practically  inert,  exerting  no  appreciable  oxidizing  influence. 

In  the  earlier  days  of  butter  manufacture,  the  lining  of 
the  cream  ripening  vats  consisted  of  tinned  sheet  iron.  The 
tin  coating  on  the  iron  lining  is  relatively  permanent.  It  stays 
bright  as  long  as  the  vat  lasts.  These  vats,  however,  were 
jacketed  vats  and  the  lining  was  prone  to  rust.  The  rusting 
did  not  usually  occur  on  the  inside  of  the  vat  lining  that  was 
exposed  to  the  cream.  The  lining  rusted  on  the  jacket  side, 
because  of  the  continued  exposure  of  the  lining  to  the  damp- 
ness in  the  jacket. 

From  the  standpoint  of  their  effect  on  the  quality  of  the 
cream  these  old-fashion,  iron-lined,  tinned,  jacketed  ripening 
vats  were  not  objectionable.  So  long  as  the  lining  did  not  rust 
through  from  the  outside,  the  tin  coating  remained  on  the  sheet 
iron  and  was  bright.  But  these  vats  were  of  comparatively  short 

1  Hunziker  and  Hosman,  Tallowy  Butter— Its  Causes  and  Prevention,  Journal 
of  Dairy  Science,  Vol.  L,  No.  4,  1917. 


CRKAM  RIPENING  241 

life,  because  they  rapidly  rusted  through  from  the  outside  and 
sprung  leaks.  Manufacturers  of  cream  vats,  therefore,  endeav- 
ored to  construct  and  place  on  the  market,  vats  of  a  more  dur- 
able metal  and  they  naturally  chose  copper  for  the  lining.  This 
step  seemed  necessary  also  as  the  result  of  the  introduction 
of  brine  as  the  cooling  medium  and  its  well-known  corrosive 
action  on  iron. 


Fig*.  36.     Enameled  cream  ripening-  tank 
Courtesy  The  Pfaudler  Co. 

But  all  efforts,  so  far,  to  cover  the  copper  surface  with  a 
satisfactory  and  permanent  coating  of  tin,  have  been  abortive. 
The  exposure  of  the  tinned  copper  surface  of  the  ripening  vat 
to  the  sour  cream,  causes  the  surface,  to  soon  turn  black  and 
the  copper  to  be  exposed,  jeopardizing  the  quality  of  both  cream 
and  butter  and  giving  rise  to  the  most  disastrous  flavor  dete- 
riorations in  butter.  Hence  the  copper-lined,  tin-coated  ripen- 
ing vats  are  highly  unsatisfactory  and  their  annual  retinning 
involves  a  very  considerable  expense. 

Advantages  of  Glass-Enameled  Vats. — Because  of  the  gen- 
eral use  in  the  creamery  of  brine  for  cooling  the  cream  it  is 
not  feasible  to  return  to  the  iron-lined,  tinned  cream  ripening 
vats.  But  the  perfection  attained  within  recent  years  in  the 
manufacture  of  glass-enameled  vats,  now  makes  possible  their 


242  CREAM  RIPENING 

use  for  cream  ripening  equipment,  These  vats,  from  the  stand- 
point of  their  protection  of  the  cream  and  butter  against  the 
oxidizing  influence  of  exposed  metals  such  as  iron  and  copper, 
and  the  damaging  effect  of  such  chemical  action  to  the  quality 
of  the  butter,  are  as  nearly  ideal  as  can  be  desired  and  this  de- 
sirability, and  the  absence  of  the  necessity  of  frequent  recoating 
are  additional  factors  in  their  favor. 

In  the  presence  of  these  facts  it  appears  reasonable  to  be- 
lieve that  as  soon  as  the  commercial  butter  manufacturers  fully 
realize  this  disastrous  influence  of  copper  and  copper  .salts  on 
cream  and  butter,  and  learn  to  appreciate  the  feasibility  of 
using  glass-enameled  vats  in  the  creamery,  glass-enameled  vats 
will  commence  to  take  the  place  of  copper-lined  vats  in  a  similar 
way  as  has  been  the  case  for  years  in  the  brewery  and  the  con- 
densed milk  factory,  and  is  now  the  case  in  oleomargarine  fac- 
tories, market  milk  and  ice  cream  plants.  This  change  will  result 
in  a  marked  improvement  of  the  quality  of  butter,  and  especially 
of  butter  for  storage  purposes. 

Amount  of  Starter  to  Add  to  Cream. — The  amount  of 
starter  to  add  to  the  cream  depends  on  such  factors  as  the  tem- 
perature at  which  the  cream  is  to  be  ripened,  season  of  the 
year,  the  length  of  time  during  which  the  cream  is  to  be 
ripened,  the  richness  of  the  cream  and  the  availability  of  the 
starter.  The  amount  of  starter  that  is  used  under  normal  con- 
ditions ranges  from  5  per  cent  to  20  per  cent,  though  larger 
amounts  may  be  used  to  good  advantage  under  certain  con- 
ditions. 

At  low  ripening  temperatures  more  starter  is  needed  to 
ripen  the  cream  than  at  high  temperatures.  When  ripening 
around  50°  F.,  20  per  cent  starter  is  desirable,  while  at  65°  F. 
10  to  15  per  cent  starter  should  be  quite  sufficient. 

If  the  time  during  which  cream  must  be  ripened  is  short, 
a  relatively  larger  amount  of  starter  is  needed.  Where  condi- 
tions necessitate  the  prolonging  of  the  ripening  process,  a  less 
amount  of  starter  should  be  used  in  order  to  guard  against 
the  danger  of  over-ripening. 

More  starter  is  usually  needed  to  ripen  the  cream  in  winter 
than  in  summer,  because  both,  atmospheric  conditions  and  the 


CRKAM  RIPENING  243 

bacterial  flora  of  winter  cream,  tend  to  delay  the  souring,  while 
in  summer  they  are  favorable  to  rapid  souring. 

Cream  rich  in  fat  will  take  care  of  a  relatively  large  amount 
of  starter  to  good  advantage,  while  the  addition  of  large  quan- 
tities of  starter  to  thin  cream  would  be  a  distinct  disadvantage, 
the  resulting  dilution  reducing  the  readiness  and  exhaustive- 
ness  of  the  churning  and  decreasing  the  churn  yield. 

Finally,  the  amount  of  starter  used  is  controlled  in  a  great 
many  creameries  by  the  availability  and  expense  of  milk  and 
skim  milk  and  other  materials  for  starter  making.  Especially 
in  the  smaller  gathered  cream  creameries  the  scarcity  of  a  goo4 
quality  of  skim  milk  and  the  high  price  of  other  starter  media, 
such  as  condensed  milk  and  milk  powder  are  a  serious  obstacle 
in  the  way  of  the  use  of  a  large  amount  of  starter. 

Time  Required  for  Ripening. — The  time  required  for  the 
ripening  of  cream  depends  on  a  variety  of  factors,  some  of 
which  are  ever  changing.  Generally  speaking,  quick  ripening, 
if  not  done  at  too  high  temperatures,  insures  a  purer  lactic  acid 
fermentation,  greater  freedom  from  the  development  of  injurious 
fermentations  and  undesirable  flavors  than  slow  ripening.  Unusu- 
ally quick  ripening  is  the  result  of  the  use  of  a  large  percent  of 
active  starter  while  slow  ripening,  other  conditions  being  the 
same,  is  caused  by  the  use  of  a  small  amount  of  starter,  or 
starter  that  has  lost  some  of  its  vitality  and  has  become  slug- 
gish. The  longer  the  ripening  period,  the  greater  is  the  danger 
of  the  development  of  undesirable  fermentations  and  flavors 
at  the  expense  of  the  pure  lactic  acid  fermentations.  Slow 
ripening  further  jeopardizes  the  quality  and  especially  the  keep- 
ing quality  of  butter  due  to  excessive  exposure  of  the  fat  and 
curd  to  the  acid,  inviting  partial  decomposition  of  one  or  both 
of  these  ingredients. 

Sweet  cream  will  generally  require  a  longer  ripening  period 
than  sour  cream,  in  order  to  secure  the  desired  degree  of  acidity 
and  it  will  stand  the  longer  ripening  without  danger  of  injury 
to  the  keeping  quality  of  the  butter  better  than  sour  cream. 
In  the  case  of  cream  that  is  sweet  and  of  good  quality  and 
relatively  rich  in  butter  fat,  such  as  cream  testing  35  per  cent 
fat  or  over,  the  addition  of  a  heavy  starter,  cooling  immediately 


244 

to  the  churning  temperature  and  holding  it  at  that  tempera- 
ture about  twelve  hours  (over  night)  has  been  found  to  produce 
a  butter  of  exceptionally  fine  quality.  This  practice  is  locked 
upon  with  favor  by  many  creameries.  Sour,  gathered  cream  is 
rarely,  if  ever,  benefitted  by  further  ripening.  It  usually  has 
a  high  degree  of  acidity  when  it  reaches  the  factory  and  it  is 
contaminated  with  a  variety  of  detrimental  organisms.  If 
warmed  to  and  held  at  the  ripening  temperature  for  any  length 
of  time,  undesirable  fermentations  are  prone  to  gain  the  upper 
hand,  hastening  objectionable  decompositions  and  injuring 
the  flavor  and  keeping  quality  of  the  butter,  in  spite  of  the 
addition  of  a  pure  culture  lactic  acid  starter.  For  this  reason 
sour  gathered  cream  is  best  cooled  to  the  churning  temperature 
at  once,  or  if  pasteurized,  immediately  after  pasteurization,  and 
churned  after  holding  it  at  that  temperature  for  about  three 
hours.  The  addition  of  starter  to  this  type  of  cream  either 
immediately  after  cooling  or  just  before  churning  usually 
freshens  up  its  flavor  to  some  extent  and  improves  the  flavor 
of  the  resulting  butter,  though  it  may  not  benefit  its  keeping 
quality  appreciably. 

The  Proper  Degree  of  Acidity  in  Cream  at  the  Churn, — 
The  per  cent  acid  in  cream  at  the  churn  that  produce*  the 
most  desirable  result  depends  on  such  factors  as  disposition 
of  butter,  whether  it  is  intended  for  immediate  consumption 
or  for  storage,  quality  of  cream  and  richness  of  cream. 

That  the  addition  of  starter  to  cream  and  the  proper  ripen- 
ing of  cream  assist  in  developing  flavor  in  butter  is  an  estab- 
lished fact.  Good  starter  improves  the  flavor  of  butter  and 
the  ripening  of  the  cream  produces  the  high  flavor  desired  by 
the  American  consumer.  If  butter  is  intended  for  immediate 
consumption,  therefore,  the  use  of  starter  in  all  cream,  and  the 
ripening  of  cream  that  arrives  at  the  creamery  in  sweet  con- 
dition, are  desirable  and  assist  in  best  meeting  the  demands  of 
the  market.  Under  these  conditions  cream  may  be  ripened 
with  starter  to  an  acidity  of  .50  to  .60  per  cent,  the  exact  acidity 
varying  with  the  fat  of  the  cream. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  should  be  clearly  understood  that 
acidity  in  cream  is  harmful  to  the  keeping  quality  of  the  but- 
ter, assisting  in  the  decomposition  of  the  non-fatty  constituents 


CREAM  RIPENING  245 

in  cream  and  butter.  Hence,  if  butter  remains  on  the  market 
for  several  weeks  before  it  reaches  the  consumer,  or  if  it  is  in- 
tended for  storage  purposes,  the  ripening  of  the  cream  is  not 
beneficial  and  may  prove  exceedingly  harmful  to  the  quality 
of  the  butter  at  the  time  it  reaches  the  consumer.  If  starter 
is  used  at  all  in  the  manufacture  of  this  butter,  it  should  be 
added  to  the  cream  after  the  cream  has  been  cooled  to  the 
churning  temperature,  or  preferably  immediately  before  the 
cream  is  drawn  into  the  churn.  This  will  lend  the  cream  and 
butter  the  beneficial  and  freshening  flavor  effect  of  the  starter 
and  at  the  same  time,  it  will  prevent  the  acidity  from  rising 
to  a  point  harmful  to  the  keeping  quality  of  butter. 

The  desirability  and  extent  of  the  use  of  starter  and  of 
cream  ripening  further  depends  on  the  quality  of  the  cream. 
In  the  case  of  cream  of  good  quality  and  that  arrives  at  the 
creamery  in  sweet  condition,  the  addition  of  starter  and  the 
ripening  of  the  cream,  do  not  jeopardize  the  keeping  quality 
of  the  resulting  butter  nearly  as  much  as  in  the  case  of  cream 
of  inferior  quality,  or  cream  that  is  already  highly  acid  when 
it  reaches  the  creamery.  In  this  type  of  cream  the  fermenta- 
tions and  the  acidity  produced  may  and  usually  have  already 
started  the  formation  of  cleavage  products  and  the  further 
ripening  hastens  decomposition  and  shortens  the  life  of  the  butter. 
This  holds  true  of  all  sour  cream,  whether  neutralized  or  not. 
If  starter  is  used  at  all  in  cream  that  arrives  at  the  creamery 
sour,  it  should  be  added  only  just  before  churning  time.  In 
most  cases  it  would  be  preferable  to  use  sweet  milk  or  sweet 
skim  milk,  in  the  place  of  sour  starter  when  butter  made  from 
this  sour  cream  is  held  for  any  length  of  time  before  it  is  con- 
sumed. Or  if  the  consumption  of  the  butter  is  fairly  rapid  the 
milk  originally  intended  for  starter,  may  be  divided  into  two 
equal  portions,  one  half  to  be  added  as  sweet  milk,  immediately 
after  neutralization  and  before  pasteurization,  and  the  remainder 
as  ripened  starter,  just  before  churning.  Such  cream  should 
have  an  acidity  of  less  than  .3  per  cent  at  the  time  of  churning. 

In  the  case  of  sweet  cream,  it  is  obvious  that  butter  made 
without  the  use  of  starter  and  without  cream  ripening,  has  a 
milder  flavor  than  the  public  desires.  Butter  made  in  this  man- 
ner is  therefore,  less  suitable  for  immediate  consumption,  but 


246  CREAM  RIPENING 

for  storage  purposes,  such  butter  will  show  a  better  flavor 
when  it  comes  out  of  storage,  than  butter  made  from  ripened 
cream. 

The  per  cent  acid  to  which  cream  may  be  ripened  in  case 
cream  ripening  is  practiced,  should  be  governed  also  by  the 
richness  of  the  cream.  The  development  of  lactic  acid  is  the 
result  of  the  action  of  the  lactic  acid  bacteria  on  the  milk 
sugar.  The  milk  sugar  is  present  only  in  the  serum  of  the 
cream.  The  acid,  therefore,,  also  is  confined  to  the  serum,  the 
fat  being  practically  neutral.  The  relative  amount  of  serum 
varies  with  the  per  cent  of  fat  in  the  cream.  The  higher  the 
per  cent  of  fat,  the  smaller  the  proportion  of  the  serum  and 
the  lower  the  per  cent  af  acid  required  in  the  cream.  The  proper 
per  cent  of  acid  in  the  ripened  cream  therefore  varies  with,  and 
should  be  adjusted  in  accordance  with  the  fat  content  of  the 
cream.  It  is  obvious  that,  if  uniformity  of  results  is  to  be 
secured,  there  must  be  uniformity  of  the  per  cent  of  acid  in 
the  serum. 

Authorities  are  at  variance  as  to  the  exact  per  cent  of  acid 
which  cream  of  a  given  richness  should  contain.  A  few  years 
past  the  general  tendency  was  to  favor  a  rather  high  acidity 
while  more  recently  the  danger  of  the  detrimental  effect  of 
high  acidity  on  the  keeping  quality  of  the  butter  has  become 
more  thoroughly  appreciated,  and  those  who  have  given  this 
subject  most  careful  study  practically  agree  that  an  acidity  of 
about  .6  per  cent  for  cream  of  good  quality  and  testing  25  per 
cent  fat  is  sufficiently  high  to  meet  the  demand  of  the  public 
for  flavor  and  is  less  apt  to  jeopardize  the  keeping  quality  of 
the  butter  than  a  higher  degree  of  ripeness.  It  should  be  under- 
stood that  these  figures  refer  only  to  cream  of  good  quality 
and  that  reaches  the  creamery  in  sweet  or  nearly  sweet,  con- 
dition. Ripening  to  this  acidity  is  justifiable  only  when  but- 
ter is  intended  for  immediate  consumption  and  the  trade  de- 
mands a  high  flavored  butter.  Accepting  .6  per  cent  acid  as 
the  proper  acidity  for  25  per  cent  cream,  it  is  a  simple  matter 
to  calculate  the  per  cent  acid  of  the  serum,  which  may  be 
adopted  as  the  standard. 

The  per  cent  serum  in  cream  is  determined  by  deducting 
the  per  cent  fat  from  100.  Cream  testing  25  per  cent  fat  there- 


CREAM  RIPENING  247 

fore  contains  100  —  25  =  75  per  cent  serum.  When  the  per 
cent  acid  in  the  cream  is  known,  the  per  cent  acid  in  the  serum 
is  calculated  by  dividing  it  by  the  per  cent  serum  and  multiply- 
ing the  quotient  by  100.  The  per  cent  acid  in  the  serum,  of 
cream  testing  25  per  cent  fat  and  .6  per  cent  acid  is  as  follows : 

-y~-X  100  •=  .8  per  cent  acid.     The  above  calculation  shows  that 

the  standard  amount  of  acid  in  the  serum  should  be  .8  per 
cent.  On  the  above  basis  the  standard  per  cent  acid  for  cream 
of  any  richness  may  readily  be  calculated,  by  deducting  the 
per  cent  fat  in  the  cream  from  100,  multiplying  the  difference  by 
.8  and  dividing  the  product  by  100. 

Example :  Cream  tests  33%  fat.  To  what  per  cent  acid  should 
it  be  ripened? 

100—  33  =  67;    67*  '8    =  .536  per  cent  acid. 

1UU 

For  the  convenience  of  the  operator  Table  42  has  been 
devised  which  shows  the  desired  degree  of  ripeness  in  per 
cent  acidity,  number  of  cubic  centimeters  of  one-tenth  normal 
alkali  solution  required  as  per  Mann's  test  and  degree  acidity  as 
per  Soxhlet-Henkel  method. 

In  using  this  table  the  butter  maker  and  student  should 
bear  in  mind  that  it  was  devised  only  as  a  guide  applicable 
and  convenient  under  fairly  normal  conditions.  Its  value  is 
limited  by  the  fact  that  its  figures  need  modification  and  read- 
justment under  a  great  variety  of  conditions,  and  at  best  should 
be  applied  only  to  cream  that  is  of  good  quality  and  sweet 
when  it  reaches  the  creamery  and  to  butter  intended  for  imme- 
diate consumption. 

Overripened  Cream. — The  overripening  of  cream  is  det- 
rimental to  the  flavor,  texture  and  keeping  quality  of  butter. 
In  overripened  cream  the  most  favorable  acid  bacteria  have 
gone  beyond  their  maximum  stage  of  activity,  the  excessive 
degree  of  acidity,  their  own  product,  is  detrimental  to  their 
further  development,  they  become  weakened,  degenerate  and 
give  way  to  other  fermentations,  less  desirable  and  usually 
harmful  to  the  flavor  of  the  butter. 


248 


CREAM  RIPENING 


Table  42.— Standard  Per  Cent  Acid  in  Cream  of  Varying  Rich- 
ness, Number  Cubic  Centimeters  of  N/10  Normal  Alkali  Solution 
Needed  When  50  c.c.  and  18  c.c.  of  Cream  Are  Used,  and  Acidity 
in  Terms  of  Degrees. 


Mann's  Test.  C.  C. 

Decinormal    Sodium 

Degrees    of    Acid 

Per  Cent 

Standard 

Hydroxide   Required 

Soxhlet   Henkel 

Fat 

Per  Cent 

to    Neutralize 

Method 

in    Cream 

Acid 

Acid  in 

in    Cream 

50  c.  c. 

18  c.  c. 

50  c.  c. 

100  c.  c. 

Cream 

Cream 

Cream 

Cream 

20 

.640 

35.6 

11.26 

14.2 

28.4 

21 

.632 

35.1 

11.12 

14.0 

28.1 

22 

.624 

34.7 

10.98 

13.9 

27.7 

23 

.616 

34.2 

10.84 

13.7 

27.4 

24 

.608 

33.8 

10.70 

13.5 

27.0 

25 

.600 

33.3 

10.56 

13.3 

26.7 

26 

.592 

32.9 

10.42 

13.2 

26.3 

27 

.584 

32.4 

10.28 

13.0 

26.0 

28 

.576 

32.0 

10.14 

12.8 

25.6 

29 

.568 

31.6 

10.00 

12.6 

25.2 

30 

.560 

31.1 

9.86 

12.4 

24.9 

31 

.552 

30.7 

9.72 

12.3 

24.5 

32 

.544 

30.2 

9.57 

12.1 

24.2 

33 

.536 

29.8 

9.43 

11.9 

23.8 

34 

528 

29.3 

9.29 

11.7 

23.5 

35 

.520 

28.8 

9.15 

11.6 

23.1 

36 

.512 

28.4 

9.01 

11.4 

22.8 

37 

.504 

28.0 

8.87 

11.2 

22.4 

38 

.496 

27.6 

8.73 

11.0 

22.0 

39 

.488 

27.1 

8.59 

10.8 

21.7 

40 

.480 

26.7 

8.45 

10.7 

21.3 

The  true  lactic  acid  bacteria  of  cream  ripening  require  the 
presence  of  oxygen  for  their  development,  they  are  aerobes. 
During  the  process  of  ripening,  or  of  changing  a  portion  of  the 
milk  sugar  to  lactic  acid,  they  use  up  most  of  the  free  oxygen 
in  cream.  Overripened  cream  is  a  medium  .practically  devoid 
of  free  oxygen  and  favorable  particularly  to  anaerobes,  those 
species  of  bacteria,  which  thrive  best  in  the  absence  of  oxygen, 
and  also  to  yeast  and  molds.  Some  of  the  most  common  of  these 
anaerobic  species  of  bacteria  belong  to  the  putrefactive  type,  de- 
composing the  proteids  and  possibly  splitting  the  fats,  and  gen- 


CREAM  RIPENING  249 

erally  producing  odors  and  flavors  detrimental  to  the  quality  of 
good  butter  and  shortening  its  life.  The  high  acid  in  overripened 
cream  in  itself  accelerates  the  development  of  certain  other 
classes  of  micro-organisms,  such  as  the  molds  which  demand 
an  acid  medium  for  maximum  growth,  and  whose  presence  in 
butter  is  exceedingly  objectionable.  From  the  bacteriological 
point  of  view,  therefore,  the  overripening  of  cream  is  highly 
undesirable,  it  deteriorates  the  flavor  and  keeping  quality  of 
the  butter. 

Overripening  does  prove  harmful  to  butter  also  from  the 
chemical  standpoint.  The  proteids  of  cream  and  butter  are  prone 
to  undergo  chemical  changes  which  invite  further  decomposition, 
giving  the  butter  off-flavors  tending  towards  metallic  and  fishy 
flavor  defects  and  hastening  its  deterioration  in  storage. 

For  these  reasons  great  care  should  be  exercised  in  stopping 
the  ripening  process  before  it  has  developed  too  far,  by  promptly 
cooling  the  cream  to  50  degrees  F.  or  below.  When  facilities 
for  prompt  cooling  are  lacking,  the  cooling  of  the  cream  should 
be  started  before  the  desired  degree  of  acidity  is  reached,  mak- 
ing due  allowance  for  additional  acid  development  during  the 
cooling  process  and  until  the  cream  has  reached  a  low  enough 
temperature  to  completely  check  further  fermentation. 

Where  cream  is  churned  only  once  or  twice  per  week,  as 
is  often  the  case  in  small  creameries  and  during  the  months  of 
small  supply,  it  is  advisable  to  keep  all  cream  at  a  low  tempera- 
ture until  twenty-four  hours  before  churning  time  and  then  raise 
the  temperature  for  the  ripening  process  sufficiently  to  com- 
plete the  ripening,  if  the  cream  "must"  be  ripened,  until  about 
three  hours  before  churning  when  it  should  be  cooled  to  the 
churning  temperature  and  held  there. 

Methods  to  Determine  the   Desired   Degree  of  Acidity. — 

When  the  cream  has  reached  the  proper  degree  of  acidity  it 
usually  has  a  clean,  mild  acid  flavor,  pleasant  to  the  palate. 
The  viscosity  of  sweet  cream  has  disappeared  and  the  cream 
has  a  granular  body  and  glistening  luster.  The  creamy  yel- 
lowish color  has  changed  to  a  whitish  tinge.  These  changes 
in  body  and  color  are  due  to  the  precipitation  of  the  casein  into 
a  granular  form. 


250  CREAM 

The  experienced  operator  can  usually  detect  the  proper 
degree  of  ripeness  by  the  taste  and  appearance  of  the  cream. 
In  order  to  assist  him  in  detecting  the  proper  degree  of  ripe- 
ness he  should  use  a  convenient  and  accurate  test  to  determine 
the  per  cent  of  acid,  such  as  the  Farrington  Alkaline  tablet 
test,  the  Mann's  acid  test  or  the  Marshall  acid  test.  These  tests 
are  based  on  the  principle  that  normal  solutions  of  alkalies  neu- 
tralize equal  portions  of  normal  solutions  of  acids.  The  alkali 
usually  used  is  sodium  hydroxide  with  phenolphthalein  as  an 
indicator,  which  turns  pink  in  an  alkaline  solution  and  remains 
colorless  in  an  acid  solution.  For  detailed  directions  of  testing 
cream  for  acid  see  Chapter  XXII  on  Chemical  Tests  and  Analy- 
ses. 

Starter  Ripening  Instead  of  Cream  Ripening. — As  previ- 
ously stated,  the  species  of  lactic  acid  bacteria,  which  have  been 
found  the  most  suitable  ferments  and  which  can  be  used  to 
advantage  in  cream  ripening,  attack  exclusively  the  non-fatty 
constituents  of  cream  and  particularly  the  lactose,  breaking  it 
down  into  lactic  acid.  The  most  prominent  of  these  species 
are  Streptococcus  lacticus  and  Bacterium  lactis  acidi.  Since 
the  non-fatty  serum  of  the  cream  is  very  largely  all  washed 
out  of  the  butter  it  would  seem  that  the  flavor  and  aroma 
developed  in  the  serum  and  exclusively  outside  of  the  fat  glob- 
ules would  also  be  washed  out  of  the  butter.  This,  however, 
is  not  the  case.  The  highly  aromatic  Isigny1  butter  for  instance 
is  washed  exceptionally  thoroughly.  The  reason  for  this  lies 
in  the  fact  that  butterfat  possesses  thej  property  of  absorbing 
flavors  and  aromas  from  volatile  oils  and  other  substances.  This 
property  has  long  been  recognized  and  is  extensively  made  use 
of  in  the  manufacture  of  perfumes.  This  shows  that  the  flavor 
and  aroma  developed  in  the  serum  are  taken  up  by  the  fat 
globules. 

From  the  above  facts  it  may  reasonably  be  assumed  that 
the  desired  butter  flavor  and  aroma  can  be  acquired  by  their 
addition  to  the  cream  or  butter,  in  the  form  of  a  properly  ripened 
starter,  in  the  place  of  the  process  of  cream  ripening.  Instead 
of  developing  these  flavors  in  the  cream  by  means  of  the  cream 


1  Isigny  butter  is  made  on  the  dairy  farms,  in  the  vicinity  of  Isigny,  Nor- 
mandy, France.  This  butter  has  established  an  enviable  reputation  for  fine 
flavor,  and  keeping  quality,  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 


STARTERS  251 

ripening  process,  they  may  be  developed  in  the  starter  and 
added  to  the  cream  shortly  before  churning  or  to  the  butter 
before  working. 

This  assumption  has  been  amply  borne  out  in  creamery 
practice.  This  practice  has  the  further  advantage  that  it  shortens 
the  time  between  receiving  the  cream  and  churning,  and  it  mini- 
mizes the  danger  of  chemical  action  of  the  acid  on  the  less  staple 
constituents  of  the  cream,  which  action  may  jeopardize  the  flavor 
and  is  known  to  injure  the  keeping  quality  of  the  butter.  This 
is  especially  true  in  the  case  of  cream  that  is  old,  relatively  sour 
and  of  poor  quality.  This  type  of  cream  needs  no  further  ripen- 
ing, it  is  usually  overripe  at  best  but  it  is  materially  improved 
by  the  addition  of  a  good  starter  shortly  before  churning  and 
without  further  ripening.  The  starter  serves  to  bring  back 
and  freshen  up  its  flavor.  If  added  to  the  cream,  both  the 
cream  and  starter  should  be  cooled  to  near  the  churning  tem- 
perature before  mixing.  Otherwise  bacterial  action  will  con- 
tinue and  there  is  danger  of  overripening.  If  added  to  the 
butter  the  starter  should  be  poured  on  the  butter  after  washing, 
after  which  the  butter  is  salted  and  worked.  The  addition  and 
working  into  the  butter  of  the  starter  after  churning,  is  not 
recommended  however,  because  it  tends  to  increase  the  curd  con- 
tent of  the  butter,  and  curd  is  an  undesirable  constituent  from  the 
standpoint  of  keeping  quality.  Its  decomposition-  or  cleavage 
products  are  injurious  to  the  flavor  of  the  butter. 

STARTERS 

Definition. — As  applied  to  biittermaking,  starter  is  a  clean- 
flavored  batch  of  medium,  usually  milk  or  skim  milk,  teeming 
with  lactic  acid  bacteria  favorable  for  the  development  of  a 
clean  acid  and  an  agreeable  flavor. 

Purpose. — The  purpose  of  using  starter  is  to  insure  the 
flavor  and  aroma  in  butter  which  the  market  demands.  As  pre- 
viously stated  the  American  consumer  has  become  accustomed 
to,  and  desires  a  rather  high  flavored  butter.  Sweet  cream  butter 
is  considered  flat  and  lacking  in  flavor  and  is  not  highly  relished. 
In  order  to  overcome  this  absence  of  flavor,  the  flavor  may  be 
developed  in  the  cream  by  ripening  or  souring  it,  which  is  best 


252 


STARTERS 


done  with  the  help  of  a  pure  culture  starter,  or  the  flavor  may 
be  added  to  the  cream  by  adding  a  considerable  amount  of  prop- 
erly ripened  lactic  acid  starter  to  the  cream,  shortly  before 
churning  and  without  further  ripening  of  the  cream,  or  the 
flavor  may  be  added  by  pouring  over  and  working  into  the  but- 
ter a  considerable  amount  of  lactic  acid  starter  in  the  churn. 

Kinds  of  Starters. — The  starters  in  use  in  butter  making 
may  be  conveniently  classified  into  two  groups,  namely: 


Natural  starter 


Spontaneously  soured  whole  milk 
Spontaneously  soured  skim  milk 
Sour  cream  from  previous  churning 
Sour  buttermilk  from  previous  churning 
Sour  whey 


Commercial  or 
artificial   starter 


Whole  milk 
Skim  milk 
Condensed  skim  milk 

redituted 
Skim   milk   powder 

redissolved 


Soured  by  use  of 
commercial  culture 
of  lactic  acid  bac- 
teria 


Natural  Starters. — Under  favorable  conditions,  starters  be- 
longing to  this  group  may  be  used  to  good  advantage,  but  as 
a  whole  they  cannot  be  consistently  recommended,  as  their  source 
usually  is  uncertain  and  their  purity  questionable.  They  cannot 
be  depended  on  for  uniformly  satisfactory  results.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  of  sour  cream,  buttermilk  and  sour  whey.  If  the 
cream  of  the  previous  churning  was  at  all  contaminated  with 
undesirable  micro-organisms,  the  use  of  such  cream  or  of  the 
buttermilk  thereof,  might  easily  become  the  very  cause  of  the 
propagation  of  harmful  germ  life  and  the  development  of  flavors 
injurious  to  the  quality  and  market  value  of  butter,  and  this 
defect  would  be  propagated  from  one  churning  to  another. 

In  a  similar  manner  the  'use  of  spontaneously  soured  whole 
milk  or  skim  milk  might  also  prove  detrimental,  rather  than 
beneficial,  in  most  cases  where  the  source  of  the  raw  material 
is  unknown. 

Commercial  or  Artificial  Starters. — Commercial  starters  are 
those,  in  the  preparation  of  which  a  commercial,  so-called  pure 


STARTERS  253 

culture  of  lactic  acid  bacteria  is  used.  The  application  of  pure 
cultures  of  lactic  acid  bacteria  for  the  ripening  of  cream  is  the 
result  of  extensive  research  by  the  eminent  Danish  investigator, 
Dr.  Storch  who  demonstrated  its  value  as  early  as  1890,1  and 
later  by  Dr.  Weigrnann  of  Kiel,  Germany. 

While  these  commercial  lactic  acid  cultures  are  frequently 
spoken  of  as  pure  cultures,  they  are  generally  not  pure  cultures ; 
they  consist  more  often  of  mixed  cultures  of  several  different 
species  of  desirable  lactic  acid  bacteria  and  particularly  of 
Streptococcus  lacticus  and  Bacterium  lactis  acidi,  occasionally 
they  also  contain  species  of  yeast. 

Some  of  the  commercial  lactic  acid  cultures  are  put  on 
the  market  in  liquid  form,  usually  in  a  medium  of  nutrient 
bouillon  (beef  broth),  whey  bouillon,  or  sterilized  milk.  Others 
are  prepared  in  the  form  of  a  dry  powder  which  consists  of 
liquid  cultures  to  which  has  been  added  some  powder,  such 
as  ground  milk  sugar,  starch,  chalk,  etc.,  in  sufficient  quan- 
tities to  absorb  the  excess  moisture. 

The  liquid  cultures  have  the  advantage  of  greater  purity, 
but  must  be  used  within  a  few  days  of  their  preparation.  Old 
liquid  cultures  have  usually  lost  their  virulence  and  are 
worthless. 

The  dry  or  powdered  cultures  are  commercially  more  prac- 
tical, inasmuch  as  the  bacteria  they  contain,  retain  their  viru- 
lence for  a  reasonable  period  of  time.  They  are  therefore 
adapted  to  transportation  to  distant  destinations.  Their  keep- 
ing quality  is  by  no  means  unlimited,  however,  they  cannot 
be  held  over  from  one  season  to  another,  but  should  be  used 
within  a  few  weeks  of  their  preparation.  They  are  somewhat 
slower  in  regaining  their  activity,  than  the  liquid  cultures  and 
require  several  propagations  before  they  can  be  depended  on 
to  produce  a  usable  starter.  One  of  the  most  serious  disadvan- 
tages of  the  dry  starter  cultures  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  are 
seldom  really  pure,  and  quite  often  they  are  seriously  con- 
taminated with  other  and  frequently  undesirable  micro-organ- 
isms. The  contamination  is  due,  in  part,  to  the  bacterial  im- 
purities in  their  absorptive  medium  and  partly  to  the  often 

1  Eighteenth  Annual  Report,   Danish   Experiment   Station,    1890. 


254 


STARTERS 


very  careless  handling  in  their  preparation  and  packing  at  the 
hands  of  employees  who  fail  to  realize  the  full  significance 
of  aseptic  conditions.  Owing  to  the  prevalence  of  these  sources 
of  contamination  the  use  of  these  dry  cultures  occasionally 
becomes  the  cause  of  serious  butter  defects. 

Classification  of  Commercial  Starter  Cultures. 


i 

O.  Douglass, 
Boston,    Mass. 

.Boston  butter 
culture 
Duplex  culture 
Lactic  acid 

culture 

Liquid 
cultures   > 

Keith,                        < 
Boston,    Mass.       i 

[Boston  butter 
culture 

Elov   Ericsson,        (  Ericsson's   but- 

Commercial 

St.  Paul,  Minn.       \ 

ter  culture 

starter 
cultures 

'"Chris.   Hansen, 
Little  Falls,          < 
N.  Y. 

Lactic  ferment 

Elov   Ericsson,        J  Ericsson's    but- 
St.  Paul,  Minn.       (    ter  culture 

Dry 
cultures   ^ 

Park  Davis  &         , 
Co.,                          <  Flavorone 
Detroit,   Mich. 

Eli  Lilly, 
Indianapolis, 
Ind. 


Lactic  acid 
culture 


Mother  Starter  or  Startoline. — In  order  to  revive  the  desir- 
able germs  in  the  commercial  starter  culture  and  to  avoid  the. 
addition  of  the  often  malodorous  and  stale  medium  of  the  com- 
mercial culture  direct  to  the  milk  which  becomes  the  starter, 
it  has  been  found  necessary  to  inoculate  the  commercial  culture 
into  a  small  amount  of  milk  and  make  several  propagations 


STARTERS  255 

(usually  two  to  three)  before  the  culture  is  transferred  to  the 
regular  starter  milk.  This  is  called  the  startoline  or  mother 
starter. 

In  order  to  keep  the  starter  in  uniformly  active  and  pure 
condition  it  is  necessary  to  propagate  several  jars  (4  to  6)  of 
mother  starter  continuously  from  day  to  day,  as  the  conditions 
which  are  essential  to  preserve  the  starter  can  be  more  readily 
controlled  in  the  case  of  the  mother  starter  in  small  jars  than 
in  the  ''big"  starter  in  the  vat  or  starter  can. 

In  the  successful  propagation  of  startoline.  cleanliness  in 
all  operations,  good  quality  of  properly  pasteurized  milk  or 
skim  milk,  protection  from  contamination  after  inoculation,  and 
proper  control  of  temperature  are  of  the  greatest  importance. 

Use  the  best  milk  or  skim  milk  available;  be  sure  that  it 
has  been  thoroughly  heated  to  at  least  180  degrees  F.  or  higher 
and  held  at  that  temperature  at  least  thirty  minutes.  Use  only 
jars  and  other  apparatus  such  as  thermometers,  spoons,  dip- 
pers, etc.  that  are  perfectly  clean  and  as  nearly  sterile  as  is 
possible  to  make  and  keep  them  under  reasonably  sanitary 
factory  conditions.  Do  not  touch  with  the  fingers  the  commer- 
cial culture  nor  the  startoline  but  transfer  it  direct  from  the 
original  bottle  into  the  jar  containing  the  pasteurized  and  cooled 
milk.  Keep  the  startoline  jars  closed,  so  as  to  guard  against 
contamination  from  the  dust  in  the  air.  Maintain  a  uniform 
temperature  of  about  65  to  75  degrees  F.  according  to  season 
of  year.  During  the  hot  season  use  the  lower  and  during  the 
cold  season  the  higher  temperature. 

Good  mother  starter  demands  systematic  work  and  scrupu- 
lous attention  to  details  and  in  order  to  make  this  possible  and 
to  economize  time,  some  suitable  equipment  should  be  pro- 
vided which  is  available  and  used  for  this  purpose  only.  The 
following  simple  and  inexpensive  equipment  has  been  found 
most  serviceable  for  the  preparation  of  mother  starter: 

Equipment  for  Preparation  of  Mother  Starter. 

1.  One  galvanized  iron  box  for  sterilizing  quart  jars,  dip- 
pers, thermometers,  spoons,  etc.,  size  preferably  13  inches  long, 
8J  inches  wide,  8J  inches  deep. 


256 


STARTERS 


2.  Twelve,  one  quart  fruit  jars  with  lids. 

3.  One  insulated  box,  metal  lined,  with  drain  hole  and  in- 
sulated cover,  size  preferably  15  inches  long,  10  in.  wide,  10  in. 
deep. 

4.  One  dairy  thermometer  with  holder. 

5.  One  dessert  spoon. 

6.  One  long  handled  one  pint  dipper  with  lip. 


Fig-.  36.    Electric  incubator  for  the  preparation  of  startoline 

Courtesy  Mojonnier  Bros.  Co. 

For  creameries  operating  on  a  large  scale,  special  incubators 
and  other  equipment,  manufactured  and  placed  on  the  market, 
with  detailed  directions  for  installation  and  use  by  reliable  milk 
products  equipment  manufacturing  firms  greatly  facilitate  the 
work  and  enhance  uniformity  of  results. 

First  Propagation. — Fill  a  clean  and  properly  scalded  quart 
jar  two-thirds  full  of  milk  or  skim  milk.  Pasteurize  at  180°  F. 
or  above  and  hold  for  not  less  than  30  minutes.  Time  may  be 
saved  by  heating  the  milk  before  the  jar  is  rilled,  then  fill  the  jar 
with  the  hot  milk  and  set  it  in  hot  water  at  180°  F.  for  30  minutes. 


STARTERS  257 

Or  the  startoline  milk  may  be  taken  from  the  milk  pasteurizer, 
held  and  cooled  in  the  starter  vat  or  starter  can.  Cool  to  70°  F. 
and  pour  the  contents  of  the  bottle  containing  the  commercial 
starter  culture  into  it,  stir  thoroughly  and  let  stand  at  a  tem- 
perature of  80°  F.,  or  according  to  special  directions  furnished 
by  the  manufacturer  of  the  starter  culture,  until  sour  and  curdled. 
This  usually  requires  about  24  hours.  The  seal  of  the  bottle 
containing  the  starter  culture  should  not  be  broken  until  just 
before  the  culture  is  used. 

Second  Propagation. — Wash  six  one-quart  fruit  jars  and  lids 
thoroughly  clean,  rinse  them  and  submerge  them  in  boiling  hot 
water,  temperature  200°  F.  or  above,  in  the  galvanized  iron  box. 

Pull  the  six  quart  jars  out  of  the  hot  water  box,  scald  the 
clean  dipper  by  dipping  it  into  the  hot  water  in  the  galvanized 
iron  box  and  fill  the  still  hot  fruit  jars  two-thirds  full  with 
pasteurized  milk  from  the  starter  vat,  and  cool  to  75°  F.  or 
lower  according  to  season.  Take  the  lids  out  of  the  hot  water 
box  and  place  them  on  the  jars. 

Now  open  the  jar  containing  the  first  propagation.  With 
the  dessert  spoon  skim  off  the  top  inch,  having  first  dipped  the 
spoon  into  the  boiling-hot  water.  Place  the  lid  on  this  jar  again 
and  shake  thoroughly  to  break  up  the  curd  and  until  the  con- 
tents  are  smooth.  Again  scald  the  spoon  in  the  hot  water  and 
transfer  one  spoonful  of  the  startoline  of  the  first  propagation 
into  each  of  the  six  quart  jars  containing  the  pasteurized  and 
cooled  milk  for  the  second  propagation.  Seal  these  jars,  and 
hold  them  in  the  insulated  box  at  about  75°  F.  until  sour  and 
curdled. 

Third  Propagation. — The  next  day  again  prepare  and  scald 
six  one-quart  jars  as  directed  under  the  "second  propagation." 
Fill  them  with  freshly  pasteurized  milk  from  the  starter  vat; 
cool  to  about  75°  F.  or  below,  according  to  season.  Take 
their  lids  out  of  the  hot  water  box  and  place  them  on  the  filled 
jars. 

Now  line  up  the  six  mother  starter  jars  of  the  second 
propagation.  Open  one  at  a  time,  dip  the  spoon  in  scalding-hot 
water  and  remove  the  top  inch  of  milk  from  each  jar,  dipping 
the  spoon  into  hot  water  after  skimming  each  jar.  Seal  these 


258  STARTERS 

jars  again  with  their  respective  covers  and  shake  each  jar  until 
contents  are  smooth.  Then  taste  the  mother  starter  of  each  jar, 
using1  the  spoon  and  always  dipping  the  spoon  in  hot  water  for 
each  jar. 

Select  the  jar  the  contents  of  which  have  the  cleanest  and 
best  flavor  and  transfer  with  the  scalded  spoon,  one  spoonful  of 
its  contents  into  each  of  the  six  jars  containing  the  freshly  pas- 
teurized startoline  milk.  Seal  the  jars  of  the  third  propagation 
and  place  them  in  the  insulated  box.  In  hot  weather  it  may 
be  advisable  to  pour  enough  tap  water  (temperature  50  to  60° 
F.)  into  the  insulated  box  to-  have  the  jars  stand  in  about  two 
inches,  of  water.  This  will  help  to  control  the  temperature. 
Close  the  insulated  box. 

The  next  morning,  examine  the  jars  without  removing  their 
lids.  If  the  milk  in  them  is  coagulated,  place  the  jars  im- 
mediately into  the  cold  room,  or  preferably  into  ice  water  until 
ready  to  use.  If  the  milk  shows  no  signs  of  coagulation,  raise 
the  temperature  to  at  least  75°  F.  and  hold  until  coagulated; 
then  set  in  cold  water  until  ready  to  use.  If  after  a  few  hours 
at  75°  a  satisfactory  coagulum  does  not  form,  reject  the  contents 
of  the  jar. 

Succeeding  Propagations. — The  succeeding  propagations  are 
made  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  directed  for  the  third 
propagation.  All  the  mother  starter  that  is  of  good  quality  and 
that  is  not  used  for  inoculation  into  jars  is  then  utilized  for 
the  inoculation  of  the  "big"  starter  in  the  starter  vat  or  starter 
can. 

The  amount  of  mother  starter  used  to  inoculate  fresh  mother 
starter  milk  in  the  jars,  and  the  temperature  at  which  the  mother 
starter  is  held,  should  be  such  that  in  12  to  18  hours  a  nice, 
smooth  and  soft  coagulum  forms  on  the  jars,  without  the  ap- 
pearance of  wheyed-off  water.  The  better,  purer  and  more 
active  the  startoline,  the  less  startoline  need  be  used.  One  dessert 
spoonful  per  jar  is  ample  in  the  case  of  good  startoline.  If  the 
holding  of  the  jars  at  75°  F.  causes  the  curd  the  next  morning 
to  be  too  firm  and  possibly  to  whey-off  and  to  be  too  high  in  acid, 


STARTERS  259 

the  temperature  should  be  lowered  until  a  temperature  is  found 
that  will  control  the  fermentation  sufficiently  to  prevent  over- 
ripening  and  yet  to  produce  the  desired  coagulum.  The  acid  in 
good  active  startoline  usually  is  .8  to  .9  per  cent.  It  is  not  prac- 
tical, nor  feasible,  to  prescribe  an  exact  temperature  that  would 
apply  everywhere,  and  at  all  times  of  the  year.  The  operator 
must  use  his  own  judgment  and  be  guided  by  his  results  from 
day  to  day. 

The  directions  above  given  for  the  preparation  and  propaga- 
tion of  mother  starter,  accompanied  by  proper  modifications  of 
temperature  at  which  the  jars  are  incubated,  according  to  weather 
and  factory  conditions,  will  yield  a  uniformly  good  quality  of 
startoline  and  the  results  can  be  depended  on  from  day  to  day. 
By  the  above  method,  propagations  from  one  and  the  same 
culture  can  be  carried  on  almost  indefinitely  and  the  startoline 
often  improves  in  quality  and  activity  as  the  number  of  transfers 
increases.  If  the  directions  on  sterilizing  all  apparatus  are  con- 
scientiously followed,  the.  startoline  will  have  no  gas  holes.  If 
the  temperature  is  adjusted  and  controlled  properly,  there  will 
always  be  active  acid  production  and  good  body.  Without  these 
precautions,  neither  the  startoline  nor  the  starter  can  be  depended 
on  to  be  of  good  quality  from  day  to  day,  and  the  startoline  has 
to  be  renewed  often  by  a  new  commercial  culture. 

Directions  for  Making  Commercial  Starter. 

Good  quality  of  milk,  sterility  of  all  utensils  and  proper 
temperature  control  are  all  important  The  absence  of  any  one 
of  these  essentials  ultimately  means  poor  starter. 

Good  Quality  of  Milk. — Good  quality  of  milk  is  all  essential 
for  good  starter  of  a  sharp,  clean  acid,  such  as  is  desired  for 
the  best  results,  although  efficient  pasteurization  will  assist  in 
minimizing  defects  of  the  raw  material.  However,  a  really  good 
starter  cannot  be  made  unless  the  milk  which  is  used  is  clean 
and  fresh.  Fresh,  sweet  whole  milk  purchased  direct  from  dairy 
farms  on  which  a  high  standard  of  sanitary  production  prevails, 
generally  yields  the  most  satisfactory  starter,  both  as  to  quality 
and  economy  of  manufacture.  Skim  milk,  if  of  good  quality, 
is  also  suitable  for  this  purpose,  but  often  proves  somewhat 


260  STARTERS 

more  expensive.  Condensed  milk  and  milk  powder,  though 
serviceable  in  the  absence  of  whole  milk  and  skim  milk,  are 
not  as  satisfactory  media  for  starter  making.  Under  favorable 
conditions  they  may  yield  reasonably  satisfactory  results,  but 
quite  often  their  use  conveys  to  butter  a  distinct  off-flavor.  Skim 
milk  powder  deteriorates  with  age,  it  should  therefore,  be  reason- 
ably fresh  when  used. 

Whole  Milk  from  Fanners. — 'The  best  quality  of  starter  milk 
is  usually  secured  where  the  milk  is  delivered  or  shipped  direct 
by  the  farmer  to  the  factory.  Every  effort  should  be  made  to 
arrange  for  such  milk  supply  direct  from  the  farmer. 

Upon  arrival  the  milk  should  be  graded  for  quality  and 
tested  for  fat  and  with  the  lactometer.  Milk  that  has  an  un- 
clean flavor,  or  that  tests  more  than  2%  acid,  or  that  shows 
a  lactometer  reading  of  less  than  29  points  at  60°  F.  should  not 
be  accepted  for  starter  milk. 

Special  attention  should  be  given  the  cans  returned  to  the 
farmers.  These  cans  must  be  free  from  rust.  They  must  be 
washed,  rinsed,  steamed  and  dried  properly,  so  that  they  are 
perfectly  clean,  dry  and  sweet-smelling.  The  farmer  should  not 
be  allowed  to  take  back  buttermilk  in  the  cans  in  which  he 
furnishes  the  milk  for  starter  making.  If  he  wants  buttermilk, 
he  should  use  a  separate  set  of  cans  for  it.  The  cans  for  the 
sweet  milk  must  be  returned  to  him  empty,  clean  and  dry. 

Skim  Milk  or  Whole  Milk  from  Milk  Products  Factories.— 

Milk  or  skim  milk  purchased  from  ice  cream  plants  or  other 
milk  products  factories  is  usually  of  poor  quality,  it  is  often 
high  in  acid  and  frequently  contains  undesirable  off-flavors.  If 
secured  from  these  sources,  each  can  should  be  carefully  in- 
spected and  it  should  be  clearly  understood  by  the  party  sel- 
ling, that  milk  that  is  stale,  high  in  acid,  off  in  flavor,  or  con- 
tains preservatives,  or  extraneous  water,  will  be  rejected. 

The  milk  must  be  delivered  in  cans  that  are  free  from  rust 
and  clean.  If  the  factory  from  which  this  milk  is  purchased 
furnishes  the  cans,  the  plant  should  be  visited  to  make  sure  that 
the  cans  are  in  satisfactory  condition  when  they  are  filled  with 
the  milk  or  skim  milk, 


STARTERS  261 

Milk,  and  skim  milk  purchased  in  this  manner,  should  be 
tested  with  the  lactometer.  At  60°  F.  normal  whole  milk  varies 
between  29  and  35  lactometer  degrees,  and  normal  skim  milk 
varies  between  36  and  38  lactometer  degrees.  If  whole  milk 
drops  below  29  and  skim  milk  drops  below  36  lactometer  degrees 
it  may  reasonably  be  suspected  that  they  have  been  watered.  If 
whole  milk  rises  above  35  lactometer  degrees  it  has  been  skim- 
med. If  skim  milk  rises  above  38  lactometer  degrees  it  has  been 
adulterated  with  some  foreign  substance,  other  than  water. 

Condensed  Milk. — If  condensed  milk  is  to  be  used,  purchase 
plain  condensed  bulk  milk,  skimmed.  Ask  for  a  concentration 
of  four  to  one.  Dilute  with  three  gallons  of  water  for  each 
gallon  of  condensed  milk.  Pour  the  water  into  the  starter  vat 
first,  start  the  coils  without  heat  and  add  the  condensed  milk. 
Mix  well,  and  pasteurize  as  usual.  If  the  condensery  is  not  in 
position  to  furnish  condensed  milk  with  a  concentration  of  4:1, 
secure  what  they  can  furnish,  and  ask  them  for  the  ratio  of 
concentration  and  dilute  as  follows  for  milk  with  different  con- 
centrations : 

Gallons 

Concentration         Gallons  Water      Condensed  Milk 
4   :1  3  1 

3|:1  2f  1 

3i:l  2\  1 

3J:1  2i  1 

3    :1  2  1 

Skim  Milk  Powder. — Dissolve  at  the  rate  of  one  pound  of 
powder  to  nine  pounds  of  water. 

Attach  two  small  wooden  slats,  similar  to  lath,  to  the  coil 
on  its  periphery  on  opposite  sides.  The  slats  should  be  long 
enough  to  reach  from  one  end  of  the  coil  to  the  other.  They  will 
help  to  beat  up  the  lumps  and  to  mix  and  dissolve  the  powder. 
These  slats  are  best  fastened  to  the  coil  by  means  of  "U"  bolts. 
There  are  some  vats  on  the  market,  originally  intended  for  use 
in  preparing  the  mix  in  ice  cream  factories,  the  coil  of  which 
is  equipped  with  metal  slats,  running  lengthwise.  These  vats 
are  ideal  for  this  purpose.  Then  pour  the  water,  cold  or  luke 
warm,  into  the  vat,  and  add  the  skim  milk  powder.  Avoid  pour- 


262  STARTERS 

ing  the  powder  over  the  sides  of  the  vat  and  on  the  coil  as  it 
tends  to  stick  and  cake  upon  heating.  Start  revolving  the  coil 
and  turn  the  heat  on.  Pasteurize  as  usual. 

Preparation  of  Starter  Milk. — Heat  the  milk,  skim  milk,  or 
the  diluted  condensed  milk,  or  the  dissolved  skim  milk  powder 
to  180°  F.  or  higher,  hold  for  one  hour  and  cool  to  75°  F.  or 
lower,  according  to  season.  Keep  covers  down  while  cooling. 
Now  add  the  startoline.  Two  quarts  of  good  startoline  is  suf- 
ficient for  200  gallons  of  milk.  If  the  startoline  is  not  in  good 
active  condition,  larger  quantities  are  necessary.  Agitate  with 
coil,  cover  down,  for  ten  minutes.  In  hot  weather,  it  may  be 
advisable  to  allow  a  small  stream  of  water  to  run  through  the 
coil  in  the  vat  or  through  the  jacket  in  the  starter  can,  over 
night,  in  order  to  prevent  the  temperature  from  rising  too  high. 
In  this  case  the  valve  in  the  water  pipe  should  be  open  just  a 
"crack." 

The  next  morning,  examine  the  starter.  With  a  properly 
scalded  dipper,  dip  out  some  and  test  for  acidity.  If  a  nice 
smooth  coagulum  has  formed  and  the  acidity  is  about  .8%  or 
slightly  over,  cool  at  once  to  50°  F.  or  below  and  draw  the 
starter  off,  adding  it  to  the  cream  as  needed.  If  the  starter  is 
not  needed  for  several  hours,  but  the  starter  vat  or  can  must  be 
vacated  for  the  preparation  of  the  next  batch,  draw  the  starter 
off  into  clean,  steamed  and  dried  shipping  cans  and  set  them  in 
the  cooler,  so  as  to  avoid  further  fermentation. 

When  the  vat  is  empty,  rinse  it,  wash  it  clean  with  wash- 
ing powder  and  hot  water,  rinse,  and  steam  thoroughly  with 
cover  down.  Fill  with  new  batch  of  starter  milk,  pasteurize  at 
180°  F.  or  above,  hold  for  one  hour,  cool  to  about  75°  F.  or  lower, 
according  to  season  and  add  startoline  as  directed  for  previ- 
ous day.  A  good  starter  has  an  acidity  of  about  .8  to  .9%,  it 
is  clean,  fairly  sharp  and  has  a  smooth,  soft  curd  that  shakes 
down  readily  and  that  is  free  from  gas  holes. 

Equipment  for  Making  Commercial  Starter: 

Where  only  a  small  amount  of  starter  is  needed,  the  milk 
may  be  heated  in  ten  gallon  milk  cans  by  setting  the  cans  in 
a  vat  containing  boiling  hot  water.  For  larger  quantities  of 
starter  milk  special  equipment  is  desirable.  The  circular  starter 


STARTERS 


263 


can,  with  the  insulated  water  jacket  on  the  outside  and  the  re- 
volving agitator  on  the  inside,  has  been  found  very  convenient 
for  this  purpose  and  is  in  general  use  in  many  creameries.  The 
chief  objection  to  these  starter  cans  is  that  the  agitation  of  the 
relatively  great  volume  of  milk  is  not  sufficient  at  the  periphery 
to  keep  the  milk  from  baking  onto  the  heating  surface.  This 
makes  thorough  cleaning  exceedingly  difficult  and  laborious  and 
it  invites  the  application  of  agents  which  remove  the  tin  as  well 
as  the  remnants  of  milk  from  the  copper  lining. 

For  creameries  with  a 
large  make  the  circular 
starter  can  is  too  small. 
They  generally  use  standard 
cream  ripening  vats  with 
disc  or  coil  agitator  and  with 
cover,  as  their  receptacle  for 
starter  making.  Easy  con- 
trol of  temperature  is  es- 
sential. 

As  a  whole,  copper- 
lined  starter  cans  or  starter- 
vats  are  objectionable.  The 
tin  coating  on  the  copper 
soon  wears  off,  exposing  the 
copper  surface  This  invites 
action  of  the  acid  in  the 
starter  on  the  copper,  yield- 
ing metallic  salts  which  are  distinctly  injurious  to  the  quality 
of  the  cream  and  butter,  enhancing  decomposition  which 
jeeopardizes  the  flavor  and  keeping  quality  of  the  butter,  and 
leading  to  the  development  of  such  butter  defects  as  metallic 
flavor,  tallowy  flavor,  fishy  flavor,  etc.  If  tinned,  copper-lined 
starter  cans  and  vats  are  used,  they  should  be  retinned  as  soon 
as  they  show  any  considerable  area  of  exposed  copper.  The 
use  of  glass-enameled  starter  vats  cannot  be  too  highly  recom- 
mended as  the  most  suitable  equipment  for  starter  making. 


Fig*.   37.     Trunion   starter   can 

Courtesy  Creamery  Package  Mfg.  Co. 


264 


STARTERS 


Pigf.  38.    Glass-enameled  starter  tank 
Courtesy  Elyria  Enameled  Products  Co. 

The  Proper  Degree  of  Ripeness. — At  the  time  when  the 
starter  milk  begins  to  be  sour  to  the  taste,  but  has  not  reached 
the  coagulating  point,  it  usually  has  a  peculiarly  disagreeable 
odor  and  flavor.  This  is  explained  to  be  due  to  the  activity  of 
other  micro-organisms  aside  from  the  lactic  acid  species  in- 
oculated. Later,  when  the  acid  is  more  pronounced  and  the 
milk  is  at  the  point  of  curdling,  this  disagreeable  flavor  and 
aroma  generally  disappear,  the  lactic  acid  species  of  bacteria 
having  gained  the  ascendancy,  holding  the  other  species  in  check. 

If  the  starter  were  therefore  used  in  the  early  stage  of 
acid  development  and  before  the  battle  of  species  for  the  survival 
of  the  fittest  had  been  decided  in  favor  of  the  lactic  acid 
organisms,  the  starter  would  fail  to  lend  to  the  cream  and  the 
resulting  butter  the  flavor  for  which  it  is  used.  It  is  important, 
therefore,  to  permit  the  starter  to  develop  until  the  maximum 
number  and  activity  of  lactic  acid  bacteria  are  secured,  which  is 
the  case  usually  at  the  point  when  the  milk  commences  to  curdle. 


STARTERS 


265 


On  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally  undesirable  to  carry  the 
souring  process  too  far.  After  the  casein  is  coagulated  the  lactic 
acid  bacteria  seem  to  lose  their  maximum  efficiency  as  acid 
producers,  they  weaken,  become  inactive  or  degenerate  and 
permit  other  species  to  gain  the  ascendancy.  The  starter  loses 
its  fine  flavor  and  its  snap,  yeasty  fermentations  and  casein- 
digesting  changes  set  in,  which  make  the  starter  unfit  and  un- 
safe for  use.  It  is  generally  conceded  that  .80  to  .90  per  cent 
acid  represents  the  maximum  acidity  to  which  it  is  safe  to  allow 
starter  to  ripen  when  ordinary  commercial  cultures  of  lactic 
acid  bacteria  are  used.  This  does  not  necessarily  hold  good 
with  cultures  of  Bacillus  bulgaricus.  This  organism  is  capable 
of  developing  a  much  higher  acid  without  degenerating  and 
without  depreciating  the  aroma  and  flavor  of  the  cream.  Bacil- 
lus bulgaricus  has  not  as  yet  been  thoroughly  tried  out  in  con- 
nection with  cream  ripening  and  its  desirability  as  a  starter 
organism  is  as  yet  undetermined. 

Amount  of  Starter  to  Use. — For  directions  concerning  the 
proper  amount  of  starter  to  add  to  cream  the  reader  is  referred 
to  the  chapter  on  Cream  Ripening. 

Scoring  the  Starter. — In  order  to  express  the  quality  of  the 
starter,  aside  from  the  per  cent  of  acid  it  contains,  in  more  con- 
crete terms,  it  is  desirable  to  use  a  figure  scale,  or  score  card. 
This  is  especially  desirable  for  the  use  of  the  student  and  for 
experimental  data.  The  following  score  card  is  recommended 
for  this  purpose : 


STARTER  SCORE  CARD 


Name, 


Date, 


Score 

Description 

Perfect]  Actual 

Aroma    .  . 
Flavor    .... 

Body 

20 
40 

20 
20 

Clean,  pronounced,  pleasant,  no  taints 
Clean,   pronounced,   snappy,   free   from  .yeasty, 
cheesy,  curdy  and  other  off-flavors 
Smooth,  soft,  creamy,  no  gas  holes,  no  whey 
.8  to  .9%  acid 

Acid    

Total    

100 

266  CHURNING 

CHAPTER  X. 
CHURNING. 

Object  of  Churning. — The  object  of  churning  is  to  separate 
the  butterfat  from  the  caseous  and  serous  parts  of  the  milk  or 
cream,  to  make  butter.  This  is  accomplished  by  the  formation 
of  butter  granules. 

Philosophy  of  Churning. — The  formation  of  butter  granules 
is  brought  about  by  the  crystallization  or  solidification  of  the 
fat  in  the  fat  globules  and  by  coalescence  of  the  wholly  or 
partly  solidified  fat  globules  into  butter  granules. 

Milk  and  Cream  an  Emulsion. — In  freshly  drawn  milk  the 
fat  is  present  in  the  form  of  minute  globules  of  liquid  fat.  These 
fat  globules  are  emulsified  in  a  watery  mixture  of  hydrated  col- 
loid— the  skim  milk.  An  emulsion,  in  this  case,  is  a  mixture 
of  two  liquids  which  are  insoluble  in  each  other,  where  one  is 
suspended  in  the  other  in  the  form  of  minute  globules.  Milk 
then  represents  an  emulsion  of  fat-in-skim  milk,  the  fat  rep- 
resenting the  divided  or  dispersed  phase,  and  the  skim  milk 
the  continuous  or  dispersing  phase  of  the  emulsion.  As  long 
as  this  emulsion  remains  intact,  there  can  be  no  formation  of 
butter  granules.  Butter  does  not  form. 

The  establishment  of  this  emulsion  of  fat-in-skim  milk  is 
the  direct  result  of  the  process  of  milk  secretion.  When  milk 
is  secreted,  nature  places  the  fat,  \vhich  is  liberated  by  the 
metabolic  activity  of  the  cells  which  line  the  alveoli,  into  the 
skim  milk  in  the  form  of  very  finely  divided  particles. 

Fischer  and  Hooker1  who  made  an  extensive  study  of  fatty 
secretions  and  fatty  emulsions,  considering  the  phenomena  of 
milk  secretion  from  the  standpoint  of  the  pathologist,  speak 
of  the  secretion  of  butterfat  as  a  fatty  degeneration  of  the  cells 
in  the  alveoli.  "The  originally  cubical  cells  wrhich  make  up 
the  alveoli  of  an  active  mammary  gland  become  richer  in  water 
and  filled  with  granules  (cloudy  swelling),  while  the  fat  in 
the  cells  runs  together  into  more  readily  visible  droplets  (fatty 
degeneration).  When  this  process  of  cloudy  swelling  with  fat 


1  Martin  H.   Fischer  and  Marion  O.  Hooker,   Fats  and  Fatty  Degeneration, 
1917. 


CHURNING  267 

Fat  Globules  in  Milk,  Cream,  Skimmilk  and  Buttermilk 
Magnification  740. 


Pig-.  39.    Milk 


fig.  40.     Cream 


Fig*.  41.    Skim  milk  FIff.  42.    Buttermilk 

coalescence  becomes  sufficiently  great,  the  cell  bursts  and  a 
fluid  mixture  of  hydrated  colloid  (meaning  the  skim  milk),  con- 
taining the  fat  globules,  results.  This  is  milk." 

It  is  obvious  from  the  above  discussion  that  the  fine  divi- 
sion and  uniform  distribution  of  the  fat  in  the  milk,  or  the  fat- 
in-skim  milk  emulsion,  is  the  handiwork  of  nature.  In  this 
finely  divided  state  the  fat  is  most  accessible  to  the  digestive 
juices,  facilitating  digestion  by  the  young,  who  depend  on 
milk  as  their  exclusive  food  and  whose  delicate  digestive  or- 
gans are  not  prepared  to  deal  with  solid  masses  of  fat. 


268  CHURNING 

Permanency  of  Fat-in-Skimmilk  Emulsion. — This  emul- 
sion, established  by  the  secretion  of  the  milk,  is  fairly  per- 
manent. The  question  here  consistently  arises:  What  causes 
these  fat  globules  to  remain  divided,  what  hinders  them  from 
running  together  like  oil? 

Earlier  investigators  claimed  that  each  fat  globule  was 
surrounded  by  a  definite  membrane.  This  was  a  mere  assump- 
tion which  proved  erroneous.  The  presence  of  such  a  membrane 
has  never  been  satisfactorily  established.  Later  study  failed  to 
demonstrate  .its  existence  and  yielded  substantial  evidence  that 
such  a  membrane  does  not  exist.  The  only  envelope  that  sur- 
rounds the  fat  globules  in  milk  is  the  skim  milk  in  which  they 
are  suspended. 

The  forces  that  make  it  possible  for  the  minute  fat  globules 
to  retain  their  identity  as  single  units  and  that  prevent  them  from 
running  together,  are  the  difference  in  the  surface  tension  be- 
tween the  fat  globules  and  the  skim  milk,  adsorption  and  the 
viscosity  of  the  milk. 

Surface  Tension. — The  fat  globules  stay  apart,  they  retain 
'their  individuality,  they  do  not  run  together,  primarily  because 
of  the  law  of  surface  tension.  By  surface  tension  is  under- 
stood the  attraction  which  the  molecules  of  one  and  the  same 
substance  have  for  each  other.  The  molecules  which  are  located 
in  the  surface  of  a  liquid,  are  attracted  toward  the  interior  of 
the  liquid  by  the  molecules  situated  there,  but  there  is  no 
similar  attraction  towards  the  exterior,  because  the  molecules  in 
the  interior  of  a  liquid*  are  subject  to  .attraction  from  all  sides. 
The  tension  thus  produced  on  the  surface  by  this  molecular  at- 
traction towards  the  interior  is  called  the  surface  tension.  It 
obviously  conveys  to  the  surface  the  tendency  to  become  re- 
duced to  the  smallest  possible  dimensions.  Hence,  if  a  liquid 
is  placed  in  a  position,  where  it  is  not  affected  by  gravity,  the 
form  of  the  liquid  changes  until  it  assumes  the  smallest  possible 
surface  for  a  given  volume.  And  this  is  the  sphere. 

In  the  case  of  milk,  in  the  secretion  of  which  nature  has 
placed  the  fat  in  finely  divided  particles,  the  fat  possesses  a  greater 
surface  tension  than  the  surrounding  skim  milk.  The  minute, 


CHURNING  269 

units  of  fat,  therefore,  retain  their  identity  and  individuality  and, 
because  of  the  surface  tension,  they  are  present  in  the  form  of 
round  globules. 

Adsorption  and  Viscosity. — The  ability  of  the  fat  globules 
in  milk  and  cream,  to  retain  their  individuality  is  further  assisted 
by  the  law  of  adsorption  and  by  the  viscosity  of  the  milk. 

By  adsorption,  in  the  sense  here  used,  is  meant  the  some- 
what greater  concentration  in  the  surface  layer  of  the  fat 
globules  of  the  skim  milk;  than  the  concentration  of  the 're- 
mainder of  the  surrounding  skim  milk.  This  concentration  of 
the  skim  milk  on  the  surface  layer  of  the  fat  globules  assists 
in  maintaining  their  internal  cohesion  and  in  diminishing  the 
power  of  adhesion  between  fat  globules.  It  tends  to  convey 
to  the  individual  fat  globules  greater  stability. 

Finally,  the  permanency  of  the  emulsion  of  the  fat  globules 
in  milk  is  enhanced  by  the  natural  viscosity  of  the  skim  milk, 
caused  by  the  presence  of  such  colloids  as  albumen  and  casein, 
and  of  milk  sugar. 

Effect  of  Cream  Separation. — When  cream  is  separated 
these  phenomena  do  not  materially  change,  they  remain  funda- 
mentally the  same.  Cream  still  represents  an  emulsion  of  fat- 
in-skim  milk.  The  composition  of  the  non-fatty  serum  in  cream 
is  similar  to  that  of  milk  and  the  difference  in  the  surface  ten- 
sion between  the  fat  globules  and  the  cream  serum  remains 
the  same.  There  is  merely  a  larger  aggregation  of  fat  globules 
in  a  smaller  volume  of  skim  milk. 

Effect  of  Cooling  of  Cream. — When  cream  is  cooled,  pre- 
paratory to  churning,  the  fat  in  the  fat  globules  wholly  or  partly 
solidifies.  This  enhances  the  internal  power  of  cohesion  in  the 
fat  globules  and  increases  the  power  of  adhesion  between  fat, 
globules,  offsetting  and  completely  overcoming  the  effect  of 
the  surface  tension  of  the  fat  globules.  If  cream  were  not  cooled 
sufficiently  to  partly  or  wholly  solidify  the  fat,  the  churning 
would  result  in  a  finer  division  of  the  fat  globules. 

Effect  of  Agitation  in  Churn. — When  this  cooled  cream, 
with  the  partly,  or  wholly  solidified  fat  globules  is  subsequently 
subjected  to  the  agitation  and  concussion  generated  in  the  re- 


270  CHURNING 

volving  churn,  the  increased  power  of  adhesion  enables  the 
partly  or  wholly  solidified  fat  globules  to  unite,  forming  butter 
granules. 

Increase  in  Size  of  Butter  Granules. — This  union  of  fat 
globules  and  formation  of  butter  granules  proceeds  in  geometric 
progression.  While  it  commences  as  soon  as  the  churn  starts 
revolving,  the  process  of  uniting  at  first  is  slow  and  the  change 
is  imperceptible.  The  minute  size  of  the  fat  globules  retards 
their  opportunity  for  collision  with  and  adhesion  to  one-another 
and  the  butter  granules  resulting  from  these  early  adhesions 
are  microscopic  in  size.  The  average  fat  globule  measures  about 
3/1000  of  one  millimeter  or  about  1/10,000  of  one  inch  in  diam- 
eter. The  sum  of  two  fat  globules  forming  one  butter  granule, 
therefore,  also  is  extremely  small.  But,  as  the  churning  process 
progresses,  the  butter  granules  form  more  rapidly  and  grow 
in  size  more  rapidly.  The  larger  they  grow  the  more  rapidly 
they  increase  in  size  with  each  successive  adhesion. 

Why  Cream  Thickens  in  the  Churn. — As  the  churning 
process  proceeds,  the  cream  begins  to  thicken  and  continues  to 
thicken,  until  it  assumes  marked  rigidity,  practically  assuming 
maintenance  of  form.  This  thickening  is  due  in  part  to  the 
increased  size  of  the  still  microscopic  or  semi-microscopic  but- 
ter granules.  These  larger  granules  offer  more  internal  friction 
and  hold  the  serum  in  a  mash-like  emulsion.  Up  to  a  certain 
point,  the  larger  these  microscopic  granules  the  thicker  and 
more  rigid  the  cream. 

The  thickening  of  the  cream  during  the  early  part  of  the 
churning  process  is  also  due,  in  a  large  measure,  to  the  profuse 
incorporation  of  air  in  this  viscous,  cold  cream.  The  cream 
whips.  The  air  so  incorporated  and  the  rigid  character  of  the 
cream  which  the  minutely  divided  air  helps  to  bring  about, 
have  a  very  marked  retarding  effect  on  the  churning  process, 
greatly  minimizing  the  concussion  to  which  the  fat  globules  are 
subjected,  and  making  it  difficult  for  them  to  find  each  other 
and  to  strike  each  other  with  sufficient  force  to  coalesce  to  one 


CHURNING  271 

another.  If  it  were  not  for  the  obstructing  presence  in  the  cream 
of  this  air,  cream  would  churn  more  rapidly.  It  is  obvious  that 
in  a  vacuum,  or  under  reduced  pressure,  the  churning-  process 
would  occupy  much  less  time. 

Since  it  is  during  the  churning  process  and  not  during  the 
working  process,  that  the  bulk  of  the  air  found  in  the  finished 
butter,  is  incorporated,  and  since  the  presence  of  air  in  butter 
represents  an  active  agent  of  butter-deterioration,  churning  in 
vacuo,  aside  from  grealy  reducing  the  churning  period  and  in- 
creasing the  capacity  of  the  creamery,  would  tend  to  exert  a 
markedly  favorable  effect  on  the  keeping  quality  of  the  butter. 

Under  certain  conditions,  which  render  cream  excessively 
viscous,  such  as  is  the  case  in  cream  from  stripper  cows,  or 
very  cold  /cream,  or  cream  that  has  undergone  ropy-milk  fermen- 
tation, the  churning  process  is  very  much  prolonged  and  fre- 
quently it  does  not  reach  the  breaking  point  at  all,  because 
of  the  air-holding  and  whipping  properties  of  the  abnormal 
viscosity  of  such  cream.  For  this  same  reason,  any  agency,  or 
condition  that  reduces  the  viscosity,  hastens  the  churning  pro- 
cess. Thus,  sour  cream  churns  more  quickly  than  sweet  cream, 
the  acid  destroying  the  viscosity  and  the  whipping  power  of  the 
cream.  Cream  from  cows  which  have  been  in  milk  for  a  short 
time  only  churns  more  rapidly  than  cream  from  stripper  cows, 
because  the  former  is  more  fluid  and  less  viscous.  At  a  high 
churning  temperature,  provided  that  the  temperature  remains 
below  the  melting  point  of  fat,  cream  churns  quicker  than  at 
a  low  temperature,  because  a  rise  in  the  temperature  increases 
the  fluidity  of  the  cream. 

In  this  stiff  and  rigid  cream  the  emulsion  of  fat-in-skim 
milk  is  still  intact. 

Why  Butter  "Breaks"  Suddenly. — As  the  butter  granules 
become  larger  in  size  in  the  thickened  cream,  a  point  is  reached, 
where  the  surface  of  the  butter  granules  becomes  so  small  in 
proportion  to  their  cubic  contents,  that  the  fat-in-skim  milk 
emulsion  can  no  longer  be  sustained,  the  emulsion  is  broken. 


272  CHURNING 

The  skim  milk  (now  called  buttermilk),  in  excess  of  that  por- 
tion that  is  incorporated  in,  or  adheres  to,  the  surface  of  the 
butter  granules,  recedes  and  "wheys  off,"  the  butter  granules 
separate  out,  and  the  butter  "breaks."  This  point  is  reached 
after  the  majority  of  the  butter  granules  have  outgrown  their 
original  microscopic  size  and  have  become  large  enough  to  be 
readily  visible  to  the  naked  eye. 


Pig.  43.    Water  droplets  in  butter,  magnification  740 

With  the  "breaking"  of  the  butter,  the  emulsion  changes 
from  a  fat-in-skim  milk  emulsion  as  represented  by  the  cream, 
to  a  buttermilk-in-fat  emulsion,  as  is  represented  by  the  butter. 
The  fat  globules  cease  to  exist  as  units.  Butter  is  a  mass  of 
butterfat  into  which  have  been  emulsified  small  divided  units, 
or  droplets,  of  buttermilk.  Butter  represents  an  emulsion  in 
which  the  fat  is  the  continuous  phase  and  the  hydrated  colloid 
or  buttermilk  the  divided  or  dispersed  phase. 

While,  under  normal  conditions  of  churning,  the  churning 
process  occupies  from  about  40  to  60  minutes,  the  actual  "break- 
ing"of  butter  happens  with  almost  instantaneous  suddenness. 


CHURNING  273 

The  reason  for  this  is  obvious.  As  previously  explained,  the 
increase  in  the  size  of  the  butter  granules  during-  the  early 
stages  of  the  churning  process  is  slow,  due  to  the  small  initial  size 
of  the  fat  globules  and  to  the  obstructing  foam.  Numerous  pro- 
gressive steps  of  adhesion  between  fat  globules  and  later  be- 
tween butter  granules  are  necessary  before  the  breaking  point 
is  reached.  This  requires  time,  and  yet,  during  all  this  time 
there  is  no  visible  sign  of  butter  formation. 

Just  before  the  breaking  point  the  contents  of  the  churn 
are  still  cream.  But  the  butter  granules,  though  still  invisible 
to  the  naked  eye,  have  reached  the  maximum  size  at  which 
their  reduced  surfaces  are  still  capable  of  sustaining  their 
emulsion  with  the  skim  milk  in  the  form  of  cream.  One  more 
union  between  each  two  of  these  relatively  large  butter  granules, 
causing  the  granules  to  be  twice  of  this  already  relatively  large 
size,  may  break  the  emulsion,  the  resulting  granules  being  too 
large  and  their  surfaces  too  small  to  still  sustain  their  emulsion 
in  the  skim  milk  of  the  cream.  The  result  is  that  the  skim 
milk  immediately  breaks  away  from  the  butter  granules  and  the 
butter  "breaks,"  and  we  have  masses  of  butter  granules  on  the 
one  hand  and  buttermilk  on  the  other. 

The  suddenness  of  the  "breaking  of  the  butter  is  further 
intensified  by  the  fact,  that  the  relatively  large  size  of  the  still 
emulsified  butter  granules  in  the  cream  just  before  the  breaking 
point,  facilitates  the  coalescence,  or  adhesion,  of  these  granules 
in  the  cream.  The  larger  the  granules  before  the  breaking  point, 
the  more  easily  they  find  each  other,  the  more  readily  they  col- 
lide, and  the  accelerated  force  of  impact  between  these  larger 
granules  increases  their  power  of  adhesion.  When  they  collide 
they  stick  together.  Simultaneous  with  the  break  of  the  tension 
of  the  fat-in-skim  milk  emulsion,  much  of  the  incorporated  air 
also  is  liberated,  further  quickening  the  breaking  of  the  emulsion. 
Hence,  when  this  critical  point  is  reached,  one  or  a  few  more 
revolutions  of  the  churn  suddenly  transforms  the  emulsion  of 
cream  into  solid  butter  and  fluid  buttermilk.  The  butter  "breaks" 
abruptly. 

The  foregoing  discussion  makes  it  clear  that  the  churning 
process  resolves  itself  into  a  change  from  a  fat-in-skim  milk 


274  CHURNING 

emulsion,  such  as  exists  in  milk  and  cream,  into  a  buttermilk-in- 
fat  emulsion,  such  as  exists  in  butter.  This  transformation  of 
emulsions,  or  of  cream  into  butter,  is  brought  about  funda- 
mentally by  solidification  of  the  fat  globules  and  by  subsequent 
coalescence  of  the  solidified  fat  globules,  forming  butter  granules, 
and  by  progresive  adhesion  or  uniting  of  the  butter  granules. 

Solidification. — The  solidification  of  the  fat  globules  is  caused 
by  low  temperature  and  concussion. 

The  solidifying  point  of  butterfat,  like  the  melting  point,  is 
not  constant.  It  varies  particularly  with  the  chemical  compost 
tion  of  the  butterfat.  Thus  the  fats  of  the  harder  glycerides,  such 
as  the  myristin,  stearin  and  palmitin,  have  a  higher  solidifying 
point  than  the  fats  of  the  softer  glycerides,  such  as  the  fats 
of  the  volatile  fatty  acids  and  the  olein.  Hence  the  solidifying 
point  fluctuates  according  to  the  relative  proportion  of  these 
several  fats  in  the  mixed  fat. 

At  the  temperature  of  the  animal  body,  98°  to  100°  F.,  but- 
terfat is  liquid.  At  ordinary  temperatures  (room  temperature) 
butterfat  contains  both  solid  and  liquid  elements.  By  lowering 
the  temperature,  fractional  crystallization  of  the  butterfat  is  ef- 
fected, the  harder  glycerides  crystallizing  first.  As  the  tem- 
perature drops,  more  of  the  softer  glycerides  begin  to  crystallize. 
The  extreme  range  of  the  solidifying  point  of  the  mixed  butter- 
fat  lies  between  about  15.5  degrees  C.  to  30  degrees  C.  (60  to 
80  degrees  F.)  Under  normal  conditions  the  range  of  tem- 
perature is  confined  to  much  narrower  limits,  not  falling  below 
about  18  degrees  C.  nor  exceeding  24  degrees  C.  (65  to  75  degrees 
F.)  and  averaging  about  21  degrees  C.  (70  degrees  F.). 

In  order  for  the  fat  globules  to  form  butter  granules,  it  is 
necessary  therefore,  to  lower  the  temperature  of  the  cream  suf- 
ficiently to  insure  solidification  of  the  fat  in  the  fat  globules. 
The  reason  why  the  churning  temperature  of  the  cream  must  be 
dropped  below  the  minimum  temperature  at  which  the  mixed 
fat  solidifies,  must  be  attributed  in  part  at  least  to  the  fact,  that 
mere  solidification,  while  it  causes  the  cream  to  churn,  does  not 
necessarily  give  the  butter  granules  the  desired  firmness.  Lower 
temperatures  are  needed  to  render  the  butter  granules  sufficiently 


CHURNING  275 

firm  to  insure  exhaustive  churning  and  to  produce  butter  with 
good  body,  and  free  from  leakiness  and  excessive  moisture. 

Recent  experiments  by  Hunziker  and  Hosman  have  revealed 
the  fact  that  mixed  butterfat  has  more  than  one  solidifying  point. 
It  appears  that  even  in  the  cooling  of  the  cream  the  mixed  but- 
terfat does  not  solidify  all  at  one  temperature,  but  that  fractional 
solidification  takes  place,  the  high  melting-point  fats  solidifying 
first.  These  findings  further  explain  why  it  is  necessary  to  cool  the 
cream  to  a  temperature  materially  below  that  of  the  solidifying 
point  of  the  mixed  butterfat,  if  a  firm  bodied  butter  is  to  be 
secured.  The  temperature  must  be  low  enough  to  also  cause  the 
solidification  of  the  lower-melting  point  fats,  particularly  the 
olein.  In  fact  it  is  at  this  point,  it  is  in  the  cream  vat,  that  the 
body  of  the  butter  is  determined.  If  the  cream  has  never  been 
exposed  to  a  temperature  low  enough  to  solidify  all  the  butterfat, 
the  butter  tends  to  have  a  weak  and  slushy  body  that  does  not 
stand  up  well  under  unfavorable  temperature  conditions.  In  a 
warm  room  it  is  prone  to  soften  quickly,  because  some  of  its  fat 
constituents  have  not  been  properly  solidified,  they  still  are  in 
fluid,  or  semi-fluid,  condition  and  cause  the  butter  to  become  soft 
and  lose  its  shape  even  at  temperatures  below  the  melting-point  of 
butter.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  cream,  at  least  once  between  the 
processes  of  pasteurization  and  of  churning,  has  been  cooled 
sufficiently  to  completely  solidify  all  the  butterfat,  the  butter 
made  from  such  cream  will  have  a  good  body  that  will  hold 
up  well,  even  under  unfavorable  temperature  conditions.  In 
this  case  the  butter  has  to  be  warmed  to  near  the  melting  point, 
before  it  will  show  signs  of  appreciable  softening.  And  even 
a  considerable  rise  in  the  churning  temperature  of  such  cream 
above  that  desired  will  not  materially  reduce  the  firmness  and 
standing-up  properties  of  the  butter  made  therefrom. 

Aside  from  the  churning  temperature  the  solidification  of 
the  fat  globules  is  enhanced  by  subjecting  them  to  vigorous  con- 
cussion. The  agitation  which  the  cream  receives  in  the  churn, 
furnishes  this  concussion  and  therefore  further  hastens  the  solidi- 
fication of  the  fat  globules. 


276  CHURNING 

Coalescence. — Coalescence  is  the  second  necessary  factor  for 
the  formation  of  butter  granules  By  coalescence  is  meant  the 
uniting  and  adhering  together  of  the  fat  globules  and  butter 
granules.  The  power  of  the  fat  globules  to  coalesce  is  largely 
determined  by  the  extent  of  solidification  and  the  amount  of  con- 
cussion. It  is  also  affected  by  the  size  of  the  fat  globules,  by 
adsorption  and  by  the  viscosity  of  the  cream. 

In  liquid  form  the  fat  globules  cannot  coalesce  to  the  extent 
of  forming  butter  granules.  In  warm  cream  set  at  rest  they  may 
run  together,  "oiling  off"  and  forming  a  continuous  layer  of  oil. 
In  cream  at  any  temperature  not  low  enough  to  cause  solidifica- 
tion or  partial  solidification  of  the  fat,  when  subjected  to  agita- 
tion such  as  is  produced  in  the  revolving  churn,  the  fat  globules, 
instead  of  coalescing  tend  to  diminish  in  size,  due  to  the  effect 
of  their  surface  tension,  adsorption  and  the  viscosity  of  the 
cream.  For  this  reason  cream  does  not  churn  out,  and  but- 
ter granules  do  not  form  when  the  temperature  is  too  high  to 
effect  at  least  partial  solidification. 

On  the  other  hand,  coalescence  and  the  formation  of  butter 
granules  is  greatly  delayed,  if  not  made  impossible,  when  the 
degree  of  solidification  has  been  carried  so  far,  as  to  cause  the 
fat  globules  and  the  small  butter  granules  to  be  very  hard.  In 
this  case  the  adhesive  property,  or  stickiness,  of  the  fat  globules 
and  of  the  initial  butter  granules  is  greatly  reduced,  the  impres- 
sion which  they  suffer  when  they  collide  is  very  slight,  the  surface 
of  contact  is  therefore  too  small  and  the  individual  globules  and 
granules  are  too  firm  to  readily  adhere  to  each  other  when 
they  collide.  For  this  reason,  cream  that  is  churned  at  an  ex- 
tremely low  temperature,  or  that  has  been  held  at  a  very  low 
temperature  for  a  long  time  before  churning,  or  the  fat  of  which 
has  a  relatively  high  melting  point,  churns  with  great  difficulty. 

In  order  to  give  the  fat  globules  an  opportunity  to  coalesce 
they  must  be  subjected  to  concussion.  This  is  obviously 
produced  by  the  operation  of  the  churn.  The  more  vigorous  the 
concussion,  other  things  being  equal,  the  greater  their  power 
to  coalesce  and  the  more  rapidly  is  the  churning  completed. 

Other  conditions  being  the  same,  the  time  required  for  the 
butter  granules  to  form  is  determined  by  the  size  of  the  fat 


CHURNING  277 

globules  and  by  the  viscosity  of  the  cream.  The  larger  the  fat 
globules  the  more  rapid  the  formation  of  the  butter  granules1. 
The  effect  of  the  concussion  and  the  ease  of  coalescence  are 
intensified  in  the  case  of  the  large  globules,  because  they  strike 
each  other  and  the  sides  of  the  churn  oftener  and  with  greater 
force  than  do  the  small  globules. 

The  viscosity  of  the  cream  diminishes  the  force  of  the  con- 
cussion. It  obstructs  the  frequency  of  the  collisions  between 
globules  and  detracts  from  the  force  of  the  impact  when  they 
do  collide,  lessening  their  power  of  adhesion. 

Conditions  which  Affect  the  Churnability  of  Cream  and  the 
Mechanical  Firmness  of  Butter. — The  ease  with  which  cream 
churns  is  dependent  on  many  and  varying  factors,  some  of  these 
factors  have  to  do  with  the  initial  character  of  the  cream  as  it 
arrives  at  the  factory,  while  others  refer  to  conditions  of  the  proc- 
ess of  manufacture.  To  the  former  group  may  be  classed  the  size 
of  the  fat  globules,  the  chemical  composition  of  the  butterfat 
and  the  viscosity  of  the  cream.  The  second  group  includes  such 
factors  as  temperature  of  cream,  degree  of  ripeness,  richness  of 
cream,  nature  of  agitation,  fullness  of  churn,  speed  of  churn. 

The  following  schematic  classification  may  serve  to  illustrate 
the  numerous  factors  which  enter  into  the  churnability  of  cream, 
and  to  clarify  their  logical  relation  to  each  other : 

1  Hunziker,  Mills  and  Spitzer,  Purdue  Bulletin  No.   159,  1912,  p.   325. 


278 


CHURNING 


Classification   of   Essential   Conditions   Influencing  the 
Churnability  of  Cream 

I  Chemical  [Breed 

composi-  J  Period    of 

tion   of  1      lactation 

butterfat  [Feed 

Temperature    f  Churning  temperature 
of  butter-    <!  Time    held    at    churning 
fat  [     temperature 


Breed  fLocality 

Period  of        -{Season   of 
lactation  year 


Solidification 
of  fat 
This    is    in- 
fluenced by 

Size   of    fat     [ 
globules       1 

The   churning 
process,  or  the 
formation    of   - 
butter  granules, 
depends  on 

Concussion 
of  cream 

Mechanical 
firmness 
of   fat 

Coalescence 
of   fat 
globules 
This    is    in- 
fluenced by 

Size   of   fat     f 
globules       •< 

Concussion 
of  cream 

Agitation 


[Fullness   of 
J     churn 
] Speed  of 
churn 


Viscosity    of  [Period    of 
cream  <     lactation 

[Acidity 
Richness  of  cream 

Chemical 
composi- 
tion  of 
butterfat 


Melting  point 


Size   of   fat     [Breed 
globules       -{ Period  of 
[     lactation 

[Breed  [Locality 

«!  Period    of       -/Season   of 
lactation       [    year 


Agitation 


[Fullness  of 

churn 
1  Speed  of 

churn 


Viscosity   of  [Period    of 
cream  -|     lactation 

I  Acidity 
Richness  of  cream 


CHURNING  279 

Size  of  Fat  Globules. — Cream  in  which  the  small  fat  globules 
greatly  predominate  churns  with  difficulty  while  cream  with 
large  average  globules  churns  quickly.  As  previously  stated  the 
formation  of  butter  granules  is  dependent  in  part  on  the  co- 
alescence of  the  fat  globules.  In  order  for  the  fat  globules  to 
coalesce,  the  fat  must  be  partly  or  wholly  solidified.  For  the 
solidification  of  the  fat  it  is  necessary  that  the  physical  equilibri- 
um of  the  fat  globules  be  disturbed  and  partly  destroyed.  Other 
things  being  the  same,  the  chief  factor  keeping  the  fat  globules 
intact  is  the  surface  tension.  The  forces  which  overcome  and 
partly  destroy  the  effect  of  the  surface  tension  are  greater  in 
their  effect  on  the  large  globules  than  on  the  small  globules, 
the  equilibrium  of  the  large  globules  is  more  easily  disturbed, 
Therefore  they  solidify  more  readily  and  coalesce  more  quickly. 
Again,  the  effect  of  the  concussion  in  the  churn,  and  the  ease 
of  coalescence  are  intensified  in  the  case  of  the  large  globules, 
because  they  strike  each  other  and  the  sides  of  the  churn  oftener 
and  with  greater  force  than  do  the  small  globules. 

This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  milk  from  stripper  cows  in 
which  the  fat  globules  are  usually  relatively  small,  often  churns 
with  great  difficulty.  And  since,  in  winter,  the  great  majority  of 
the  cows  supplying  the  creamery  are  well  advanced  in  their 
period  of  lactation,  it  is  in  winter  that  the  majority  of  the  churn- 
ing difficulties  occur.  The  diameter  of  the  fat  globules  in  strip- 
per milk  averages  about  one-third  of  that  of  the  fat  globules  of 
milk  from  cows  during  the  first  two  to  three  months  of  lactation. 

The  size  of  the  fat  globules  is  also  very  materially  affected 
by  breed,  the  fat  globules  in  milk  of  the  Channel  Island  cows 
averaging  much  larger  than  those  of  the  Holsteins  and  Ayrshires. 
This  explains  in  part,  why  cream  churned  on  the  farm  and 
produced  exclusively  from  Holsteins  and  Ayrshires,  at  a  time 
when  the  cows  approach  the  end  of  their  period  of  lactation, 
often  churns  with  great  difficulty.  In  the  creamery  the  factor 
of  breed  of  cows  is  of  much  less  importance.  As  the  cream 
supply  territory  of  most  creameries  embraces  a  varied  mixture 
of  the  several  breeds  and  grades  of  dairy  cattle,  the  danger  of 
churning  difficulties  due  to  effect  of  breed  on  the  size  of  the  fat 
globules,  is  a  negative  quantity. 


280  CHURNING 

Chemical  Properties  of  the  Butterfat. — The  chemical  make- 
up of  the  butterfat  influences  its  churnability  largely  through  its 
effect  on  the  melting  point  and  mechanical  firmness  of  the  fat. 
While  the  desired  degree  of  solidification  of  the  fat  globules  is 
chiefly  a  matter  of  temperature  adjustment  of  the  cream  before 
churning,  it  is  very  materially  influenced  by  the  chemical  com- 
position of  the  fat.  Butterfat  is  a  mixture  of  fats  with  different 
melting  points,  different  solidifying  points  and  of  varying  me- 
chanical firmness. 

Experimental  results  by  the  author1  and  others  show  that, 
while  there  appears  to  be  no  definite  relation  between  the  per 
cent  of  volatile  acids,  as  arbitrarily  expressed  by  the  Reichert- 
Meissl  number,  and  the  per  cent  of  oleic  acid,  as  expressed  by 
the  Iodine  number,  and  the  melting  point,  and  while  the  relative 
proportion  of  soluble  acids  exclusive  of  butyric  and  that  of  in- 
soluble acids  exclusive  of  oleic  acid  is  evidently  an  important 
factor  related  to  the  melting  point,  it  appears  reasonable  to  con- 
clude, that  the  volatile  acids  and  the  oleic  acid  do  influence  the 
melting  point  to  a  very  marked  degree  and  that  there  is  a  strong 
tendency  for  the  melting  point  to  follow,  inversely,  changes  in 
the  per  cent  oleic  acid  and  volatile  fatty  acids. 

Since  the  volatile  fatty  acids  have  a  much  lower  melting 
point  than  the  oleic  acid,  it  is  obvious  that  variations  in  the 
amount  of  the  former,  present  in  the  butterfat,  exert  the  greater 
influence  on  the  melting-point  of  the  fat.  However,  the  volatile 
fatty  acids  are  present  in  relatively  small  amounts  and  their 
changes,  expressed  in  percentage  of  the  total  fat,  are  usually 
slight.  Oleic  acid,  on  the  other  hand,  constitutes  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  total  butterfat  and  it  often  varies  between  wide  limits 
(35  to  50%).  Hence  the  fluctuations  in  the  amount  of  oleic  acid 
present  are  looked  upon  as,  and  have  been  found  to  be,  respons- 
ible for,  in  a  large  measure,  variations  in  the  melting  point. 

Butterfat  in  which  the  fats  with  high  melting  points  and 
great  firmness  are  present  in  excess  and  at  the  expense  of  the 
fats  with  low  melting  points  and  soft  texture,  churns  relatively 
slowly.  The  fat  globules  solidify  at  a  relatively  high  tempera- 
ture, and  unless  the  churning  temperature  has  been  correspond- 
ingly raised,  they  are  prone  to  become  excessively  firm,  their 

1  Hunziker,  Spitzer  and  Mills,  Purdue  Bulletin  No.  159,  1912. 


CHURNING  281 

power  of  coalescence  is  greatly  reduced  and  the  formation  of 
butter  granules  is  retarded.  When  cream  containing  butterfat 
of  this  character  is  held  at  a  low  temperature  for  a  considerable 
length  of  time  and  is  churned  at  that  low  temperature,  the  dif- 
ficulty of  churning  becomes  very  marked  and  the  churning  pro- 
cess may  require  several  hours.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  case 
of  cream  containing  butterfat  which  is  made  up  of  a  relatively 
large  portion  of  fats  with  a  low  melting  point  and  has  a  soft 
texture,  the  cream  will  churn  quickly  because  the  coalescence 
of  the  soft  fat  globules  is  facilitated. 

Individuality,  breed,  age  and  length  of  milking  period  exert 
some  influence  on  the  melting  point  and  mechanical  texture  of 
the  fat.  Thus  the  Channel  Island  cows  produce  butterfat  with 
a  higher  melting  point  and  of  firmer  texture  than  the  Holsteins 
and  Ayrshires,  Quite  often  cows  which  have  been  in  milk  for 
an  abnormal  length  of  time  produce  a  very  firm  butterfat  that 
churns  with  great  difficulty.  But  these  factors  must  be  con- 
sidered rather  incidental  and  of  material  influence  only  in  the 
case  of  butter  that  is  made  on  the  farm  and  from  a  small  num- 
ber of  cows. 

The  most  important  and  decisive  factor  affecting  the  chem- 
ical composition,  melting  point  and  mechanical  texture  of  the 
fat  and  the  churnability  of  the  cream  is  the  feed.  Experimental 
investigations1  have  conclusively  brought  out  the  following  facts 
with  reference  to  the  influence  of  different  feeds  on  the  melting 
point  and  mechanical  firmness  of  the  butterfat: 

Feeds  which  increase  the  per  cent  of  olein  usually  tend  to 
make  a  soft  butter.  To  these  belong  feeds  rich  in  vegetable  oils, 
such  as  germ  oil,  corn  oil,  linseed  oil,  linseed  meal  rich  in  fat, 
cottonseed  oil,  soya  bean  oil,  soya  bean  meal,  gluten  feeds  rich 
in  fat  when  fed  in  large  quantities  and  blue  grass  pasture. 

Feeds  which  decrease  the  per  cent  of  olein,  such  as  feeds 
low  in  vegetable  oils,  and  rich  in  carbohydrates  and  sugars,  tend 
to  make  a  firm  butter.  To  these  belong  potatoes,  corn  meal, 
corn  silage,  sweet  corn  fodder,  wheat  bran,  sugar  beets,  etc. 
Cottonseed  meal  also  tends  to  make  a  firm  and  crumbly  butter. 

It  is  obvious  from  the  above  results,  that  in  winter,  when 
the  cows  are  on  dry  feed  and  especially  if  the  grain  ration  con- 

iHunziker,   Spitzer  and  Mills.     Purdue  Bulletin  No.   159,   1912. 


282  CHURNING 

tains  bran  and  cottonseed  meal,  the  butterfat  is  prone  to  be 
relatively  firm  and  the  fat  globules  are  slow  in  uniting  into  but- 
ter granules.  This  condition  is  further  intensified  by  the  fact 
that  the  fat  globules  in  winter  cream  are  relatively  small  and  the 
cream  is  often  of  viscous  nature  due  to  the  advanced  state  of  the 
period  of  lactation  of  the  majority  of  the  cows.  Where  butter 
is  made  on  the  farm  and  the  buttermaker  therefore  has  the  feed- 
ing under  his  control,  the  addition  to  the  ration  of  some  con- 
centrate rich  in  vegetable  oil,  such  as  linseed  meal,  or  gluten 
feed,  will  help  to  overcome  churning  difficulties.  In  summer 
when  the  cows  are  on  succulent  pasture,  which  tends  to  lower 
the  melting  point  of  the  fat  and  frequently  causes  the  butter  to 
come  too  quickly  and  in  soft  and  slushy  condition,  the  difficulty 
may  be  avoided  by  feeding  a  small  amount  of  dry  hay  if  avail- 
able, or  cottonseed  meal,  or  other  feed  producing  hard  fat.  In 
the  creamery,  where  the  buttermaker  has  no  control  of  the  feed- 
ing, the  difficulty  can  best  be  overcome  by  adjusting  the  churn- 
ing temperature  so  as  to  make  the  butter  come  moderately  firm. 
In  summer  the  chief  remedy  against  too  rapid  formation  of  the 
butter  granules  and  the  production  of  an  excessively  soft  and 
slushy  butter  lies  in  the  proper  lowering  of  the  churning  tem- 
perature. 

Viscosity  of  Cream. — The  more  viscous  the  cream  the  more 
time  is  required  to  complete  the  churning.  The  viscosity  of  the 
cream  counteracts  to  a  considerable  extent  the  concussion  to 
which  the  fat  globules  must  be  subjected,  in  order  to  make  pos- 
sible their  coalescence.  In  very  viscous  cream  the  fat  globules 
strike  each  other  less  readily  and  with  less  force  than  in  cream 
free  from  abnormal  viscosity.  The  churning  difficulty  is  further 
greatly  intensified  by  the  obstructing  effect  of  the  great  volume 
of  air  which  is  beaten  into  and  held  by  this  viscous  cream. 

Abnormal  viscosity  of  cream  is  often  due  to  its  peculiar 
chemical  properties.  Cream  from  stripper  cows  and  cows  which 
have  been  in  milk  for  a  prolonged  period  is  prone  to  show 
pronounced  viscosity  and  often  churns  with  great  difficulty.  This 
is  especially  true  with  certain  individual  cows.  Such  cream 
usually  contains  a  relatively  high  per  cent  of  solids  not  fat,  and 
these  solids,  especially  the  proteids,  may  be  of  abnormally 
viscous  character. 


CHURNING  283 

The  viscosity  is  frequently  also  brought  about,  or  intensified, 
by  abnormal  fermentations  which  break  down  a  portion  of  the 
proteids.  Excessively  low  temperature  and  churning  the  cream 
sweet,  are  additional  conditions  which  tend  toward  churning 
difficulties  by  intensifying  the  viscosity  and  the  resulting  froth- 
ing in  the  churn. 

The  viscosity  may  be  materially  reduced  by  properly  ripen- 
ing the  cream  and  by  raising  the  churning  temperature,  also 
by  adding  a  small  amount  of  salt  to  the  cream. 

Churning  Temperature. — The  churning  temperature  is  one 
of  the  most  important  factors  governing  the  churnability  of  the 
cream.  Other  conditions  being  the  same,  and  within  reason- 
able limits,  the  higher  the  churning  temperature,  the  more  rapidly, 
do  the  butter  granules  form'  and  the  shorter  is  the  churning  pro- 
cess; the  lower  the  temperature  the  more  time  is  required  to  com- 
plete the  churning. 

Excessively  high  churning  temperatures  are  very  undesirable, 
because  they  are  injurious  to  the  texture  and  quality  of  the  but- 
ter. Butter  made  under  such  conditions  is  prone  to  have  a 
greasy  texture  and  a  poor,  weak,  slushy  and  leaky  body.  Such, 
butter  does  not  stand  up  well  on  the  market  and  readily  develops 
off-flavors.  This  is  especially  true  with  cream  with  a  relatively 
high  per  cent  of  fat.  Cream  with  a  low  fat  content  can  be 
churned  at  relatively  higher  temperatures  without  danger  of 
serious  injury  to  the  body  of  the  butter.  High  churning  tem- 
peratures are  also  prone  to  cause  overchurning.  The  fat  globules 
unite  so  rapidly  that  the  churn  usually  is  not  stopped  soon 
enough,  so  that  the  coalescence  has  gone  far  beyond  the  granular 
stage,  large  lumps  of  butter  having  been  formed.  Churning  at 
too  high  temperatures  further  causes  excessive  loss  of  fat  in  the 
buttermilk.  This  is  due  to  the  great  rapidity  with  which  the 
large  globules  coalesce  and  the  shortness  of  the  churning  period, 
giving  the  small  globules  insufficient  opportunity  to  become 
properly  incorporated  in  the  butter  granules. 

High  churning  temperatures  in  early  summer,  when  the 
butterfat  naturally  has  a  low  melting  point,  and  is  relatively  soft 
because  of  access  of  the  cows  to  green  pasture,  tends  to  produce 
butter  high  in  moisture  and  there  is  danger  of  violating  the  16 


284  CHURNING 

per  cent  moisture  limit.  When  butter  contains  too  much 
moisture  as  the  result  of  churning  at  too  high  a  temperature,  it 
is  often  difficult  to  correct  the  error.  The  fat  in  this  condition 
is  so  soft  that  it  is  exceedingly  miscible  with  water  and  the 
water  is  very  finely  distributed  throughout  the  butter  and  thor- 
oughly incorporated.  For  correction  of  this  defect  see  chapter 
on  Moisture  Control. 

High  churning  temperatures  under  certain  conditions  are 
also  prone  to  produce  a  slushy  and  very  leaky  butter.  This  is 
especially  the  case  in  fall,  winter  and  early  spring,  when  the 
melting  point  of  the  butterfat  is  relatively  high  and  the  higher 
churning  temperature  does  not  very  greatly  increase  the  mis- 
cibility  of  the  butterfat,  but  reduces  the  emulsifying  power  of 
the  protein  substances  in  butter. 

Too  low  a  churning  temperature  is  undesirable  because  it 
greatly  prolongs  the  churning  process.  This  is  due  partly  to 
excessive  solidification  of  the  fat  in  the  fat  globules.  The  fat 
globules  become  so  firm  that  their  power  to  coalesce  and  to  form 
butter  granules  is  greatly  reduced.  The  difficulty  of  churning 
is  further  augmented  by  the  increase  of  the  viscosity  of  this 
cold  cream,  which  lessens  the  concussion,  and  by  the  churning 
of  cream  with  a  very  low  butterfat  content  which  hinders  the 
fat  globules  from  uniting  into  granules,  because  of  the  large 
amount  of  intervening  serum.  When  churned  at  abnormally  low 
temperatures  the  butter  appears  in  the  form  of  very  firm,  small, 
round  granules  which  make  the  proper  and  uniform  incorporai 
tion  of  the  salt  difficult  and  which  hinder  the  control  of  moist- 
ure and  overrun.  Such  butter  is  prone  to  be  low  in  moisture 
and  to  cause  a  correspondingly  low  overrun.  In  order  to  get 
the  salt  properly  incorporated  there  is  danger  of  overworking  it 
and  of  giving  the  butter  a  salvy  body.  Of  the  two  extremes,  too 
high  and  too  low  temperatures,  the  former,  too  high  a  tem- 
perature, however,  is  the  most  harmful  to  the  quality  of  the 
butter. 

As  previously  shown,  the  churning  temperature  must  be 
governed  by  and  adjusted  according  to  the  degree  of  firmness 
of  the  fat  in  the  cream  and  this  in  turn  will  vary  with  locality 
and  season  of  year, 


CHURNING 


285 


The  locality  largely  determines  the  breed  of  dairy  cows  and 
the  feed;  while  the  season  has  to  do  with  the  period, of  lactation 
and  feed. 

Table  43. — Showing  Effect  of  Breed  on  Mechanical  Firmness  of 
Butter   and    Relation    of   Mechanical   Firmness   to    Butter  Fat 

Constants.1 


Breed 

No.  of 
Cows 

Reichert- 
Meissl  No. 

Iodine 
Number 

Melting 
Point 

Depression 
mm. 

Ayrshire    .. 
Holstein    .  . 
Jersey    

3 
3 
18 

27.84 
27.56 
31.12 

35.64 
37.10 
29.10 

34.1 
34.3 
34.5 

16.83 
4.88 
1.83 

The  above  table  shows  that  the  fat  from  Holsteins  and 
Ayrshires  contains  a  greater  proportion  of  the  softer  fats  (olein) 
as  expressed  by  the  Iodine  number  and  makes  a  much  softer 
butter  than  the  fat  from  the  Jerseys.  In  localities,  therefore, 
where  the  Holsteins  and  Ayrshires  predominate,  lower  churning 
temperatures  should  be  used  than  in  exclusive  Jersey  territory 

In  the  southern  states  where,  because  of  the  great  availabili- 
ty and  cheapness,  cottonseed  meal  is  fed  in  relatively  large 
quantities,  higher  churning  temperatures  must  be  used  than  in 
the  northern  sections  where  gluten  feed  and  linseed  meal  are 
a  prominent  part  of  the  grain  ration.  In  fact,  in  certain  sections 
of  the  South  it  is  necessary  to  raise  the  churning  temperature  to 
as  high  as  72°  F.  in  order  to  complete  the  churning  process  in 
a  reasonable  length  of  time  and  to  secure  butter  with  a  body 
sufficiently  soft  for  proper  handling. 

With  reference  to  the  season  of  the  year  the  fact  is  well 
known  that  in  winter  higher  churning  temperatures  must  be 
used  than  in  summer,  in  order  to  complete  the  churning  pro- 
cess without  undue  delay  and  to  produce  a  butter  that  is  not 
too  firm.  The  fat  in  winter  milk  is  usually  of  a  firmer  character 
than  that  of  summer  milk. 

That  this  condition  is  largely  due  to  the  change  of  the 
chemical  properties  of  the  butterfat  with  the  change  of  the 
season,  is  shown  in  the  following  table  which  represents  analyses 


1  Hunziker,  Mills  and  Spitzer,  Purdue  Bulletin  No.  159,  1912. 


286 


CHURNING 


Table  44. — Effect  of  the  Season  of  the  Year  on  the  Composition 
of  Butter  Fat  of  Creamery  Butter.1 


Reichert- 
Meissl 
Number 

Iodine 
Number 

Melting 
Point 
0  C. 

January    

30.03 

31.20 

33.4      C. 

February 

3058 

31  97 

33.5      C. 

March     

31.30 

31.94 

33.5      C. 

April    

29.35 

35.83 

33.3      C. 

May    . 

29.55 

36.48 

32.5      C. 

June    

29.56 

38.23 

32.45    C. 

July 

2890 

37.10 

31.9      C. 

August    

27.13 

38.99 

32.1      C. 

September    

27.19 

35.36 

33.0      C. 

October    

26.54 

34.27 

33.2      C. 

November    

28.36 

30.65 

33.4      C. 

December    . 

29.62 

30.30 

33.6      C. 

of  butterfat  of  butter  made  in  the  Purdue  University  Creamery 
during  the  twelve  months  of  the  year. 

The  above  table  shows  that  during  the  winter  months 
the  melting  point  of  the  butterfat  is  highest,  causing  a  relatively 
firm  butter  while  in  summer  it  is  lowest  causing  a  soft  butter. 
The  reason  for  the  higher  melting  point  in  winter  and  the  lower 
melting  point  in  summer  is  obviously  largely  due  to  the  decrease 
in  winter  and  increase  in  summer,  of  the  per  cent  of  olein  as 
expressed  by  the  Iodine  number  and  of  the  volatile  fatty  acids 
expressed  by  the  Reichert  Meissl  number.  The  greater  firmness 
of  the  winter  butter  has  been  attributed  by  some  writers  to  the 
effect  of  the  period  of  lactation.  Since  the  majority  of  the  cows 
approach  the  end  of  their  lactation  period  in  winter  it  was  as- 
sumed that  stripper  cows  produce  fat  with  less  olein,  a  higher 
melting  point  and  a  higher  degree  of  hardness  than  fresh  cows. 
This  is  erroneous  and  not  substantiated  by  facts  as  shown  in 
below  experimental  results.  In  the  experiment  referred  to  in 
table  on  next  page  the  cows  received  the  same  feed  ration 
throughout  the  year. 


1  Hunziker,  Mills  and  Spitzer,  Moisture  Control,  Factors  not  under  Control 
of  the  Buttermaker,  Purdue  Bulletin  159,   1912. 


CHURNING 


Table   45. — Effect   of   Period   of   Lactation   on   Butter   Fat 

Constants.1 


Period 

Reichert: 
Meissl 
No. 

Soluble 
Acids 
Per   Cent 

Insoluble 
Acids 
Per  Cent 

Iodine 
Number 

Melting 
Point 

1st    month. 

34.55 

7.80 

87.01 

32.08 

35.2 

2nd  month. 

32.62 

7.50 

87.37 

32.15 

35.2 

3rd   month. 

31.57 

7.34 

87.45 

31.67 

35.4 

4th    month. 

31.89 

7.34 

87.34 

32.00 

35.2 

5th   month. 

31.59 

7.24 

87.41 

32.30 

34.7 

6th   month. 

31.39 

7.19 

87.57 

32.78 

34.1 

7th    month. 

30.39 

6.97 

87.70 

34.74 

34.5 

8th   month. 

28.48 

6.55 

88.00 

35.90 

34.7 

9th    month. 

28.72 

6.56 

88.00 

35.23 

34.7 

10th    month 

29.72 

6.69 

87.78 

33.72 

34.0 

The  above  figures  clearly  indicate  that,  while  the  volatile 
fats  as  expressed  by  the  Reichert-Meissl  number,  decrease,  the 
olein  as  expressed  by  the  Iodine  number  increases  and  the  melt- 
ing point  drops,  reducing  the  degree  of  firmness  of  the  fat  as 
the  period  of  lactation  advances.  This  condition  may,  however, 
in  part,  be  offset  by  the  reduction  of  the  size  of  the  fat  globules 
with  the  advancement  of  the  period  of  lactation  as  shown  in  the 
following  table: 

Effect  of  Breed  and  Period  of  Lactation  on  the  Size  of  the 

Globules.1 


Breeds  of  Dairy  Cows 


Period   of 
Lactation 

Jersey 
25    Cows 

Guern- 
sey 
20  Cows 

Hoi- 
stein 
9    Cows 

Ayr- 
shire 
33  Cows 

Holder- 
ness 
20    Cows 

Devon 
16  Cows 

1st    month  

1104 

928 

687 

546 

2nd   month  
3rd  month  

1098 
1228 

1063 
954 

640 
576 

580 
624 

661 

607 

585 
450 

4th   month  
5th   month  

1097 
1149 

659 
839 

256 
396 

426 
384 

501 
397 

547 
319 

6th   month 

846 

737 

595 

399 

324 

355 

7th   month       .  .  . 

1017 

584 

340 

322 

329 

270 

8th   month  

733 

568 

! 

310 

298 

379 

200 

9th   month   .  . 

715 

408 

384 

241 

315 

250 

10th   month  
Ave.    for    year.  . 

571 
955.8 

426 
716.6 

284 
420.1 

248 
420.9 

336 
427.6 

228 

375 

1  Hunziker,  Mills  and  Spitzer,  Moisture  Control,  Factors  not  under  Control 
of   the   Buttermaker,   Purdue   Bulletin  159,    1912. 


CHURNING 


The  chief  cause  of  the  change  trom  the  relatively  soft  but- 
ter in  summer  to  firm  butter  in  winter  is  unmistakeably  the 
change  from  green  pasture  to  dry  feed.  This  is  most  con- 
clusively brought  out  in  the  following  table : 

Table  47. — Effect  of  Dry  Feed  versus  Blue  Grass  Pasture  on 

Mechanical  Firmness  of  Butter  and  Its  Relation  to  the 

Butter  Fat  Constants.1 


May 

Reichert- 
Meissl 
Number 

Iodine 
Number 

Melting 
Point 

Average 
Volume 
Fat 
Globules 

Depression 
mm. 

30.24 

29.97 

34.5 

39.48 

.655 

30.47 

29.51 

34.5 

40.00 

.500 

30.56 

29.34 

34.3 

45.11 

.540 

8-14 

30.40 

29.11 

34.5 

48.44 

.580 

Dry  feed 

30.14 

28.67 

34.3 

61.49 

.580 

30.15 

29.50 

34.4 

49.31 

1.040 

30.00 

29.00 

34.3 

51.01 

1.000 

Average    

30.28 

29.30 

34.4 

47.83 

.701 

30.85 

29.11 

34.3 

52.02 

1.000 

30.77 

29.33 

34.4 

51.92 

1.080 

15-21 

31.03 

29.55 

34.2 

50.59 

.955 

Dry  feed  plus  ' 

30.86 

30.05 

34.4 

54.93 

1.580 

one  to  two  hours 

31.20 

30.36 

34.3 

75.62 

1.665 

pasture   daily 

30.62 

31.84 

34.2 

70.64 

1.415 

30.93 

33.12 

33.8 

76.01 

3.080 

Average    

30.89 

30.48 

34.2 

61.68 

1.539 

29.96 

33.51 

33.5 

76.04 

4.165 

28.83 

36.43 

.  33.5 

82.87 

8.580 

22-28 

28.66 

38.06 

33.4 

93.83 

3.915 

Pasture 

28.87 

38.86 

33.6 

67.32 

5.915 

exclusively 

.    27.57 

38.97 

33.2 

60.60 

6.832 

29.65 

38.92 

32.9 

55.55 

7.705 

28.59 

39.36 

33.1 

62.12 

5.830 

Average    . 

28.87 

37.73 

33.3 

71.19 

6.135 

In  Table  47  is  shown  the  relation  of  the  mechanical  firmness 
to  the  moisture  content  of  butter,  average  volume  of  fat  globules 
and  butter  fat  constants,  as  affected  by  the  change  from  dry 
feed  to  blue  grass  pasture. 


1  Hunziker,    Mills    and    Spitzer,    Moisture    Control    of    Butter,    Factors    not 
under  Control   of  the   Buttermaker,   Purdue   Bulletin   159,   1912. 


CHURNING  289 

• 

The  increase  of  the  depression  was  accompanied  by  an  in- 
crease of  the  moisture  content  of  the  butter,  of  the  average  vol- 
ume of  the  fat  globules  and  of  the  per  cent,  olein  and  by  a  de- 
crease of  the  volatile  acids  and  a  drop  of  the  melting  point.  The 
effect  of  the  decrease  of  the  volatile  acids  was  again  off-set  and 
overcome  by  the  marked  increase  of  the  per  cent,  olein.  This  in 
turn  lowered  the  melting  point  1.1  degrees  and  yielded  the 
softer  butter.  The  increase  in  the  depression  of  butter  may  also 
have  been  accelerated  by  the  decided  increase  of  the  average  size 
of  the  fat  globules. 

The  depression  in  millimeters  indicates  the  mechanical  firm- 
ness of  the  butter.  The  mechanical  firmness  of  butter  was  deter- 
mined by  measuring  the  degree  of  depression  under  a  given 
weight  for  a  given  time.  The  mechanical  firmness  is  expressed 
in  millimeter  depression. 

On  the  basis  of  these  facts  the  churning  temperature  may 
vary  within  wide  limits,  possibly  from  42  to  75  degrees  F.  In 
the  northern  and  central  tier  of  the  dairy  belt  and  under  fairly 
normal  conditions  the  variations  of  the  proper  churning  tem- 
perature are  confined  to  within  much  narrower  limits,  ranging  in 
summer  between  about  48  and  53  degrees  F.  and  in  winter  be- 
tween about  55  and  60  degrees  F. 

In  order  to  use  the  proper  churning  temperature  it  is  neces- 
sary for  the  buttermaker  to  familiarize  himself  with  the  condi- 
tions which  influence  and  alter  the  mechanical  firmness  of  the 
butterfat  he  receives,  to  study  the  changes  of  these  conditions 
and  the  character  of  the  cream  as  it  comes  to  the  factory,  and 
then  adjust  the  churning  temperature  of  his  cream  accordingly. 
This  is  especially  important  in  the  spring  of  the  year  when  the 
pasture  season  opens  up  and  in  the  fall  of  the  year  when  the 
cows  are  stabled. 

The  appearance  of  any  conditions  which  tend  to  produce 
firmer  fat  should  be  followed  by  a  corresponding  rise  in  the  churn- 
ing temperature  and  any  conditions  tending  to  render  the  but- 
terfat softer  should  be  followed  by  a  corresponding  drop  in  the 
churning  temperature. 

Since  the  firmness  of  the  butterfat  directly  governs  trie 
time  necessary  to  complete  the  churning,  the  buttermaker  may 
use  as  a  convenient  guide  for  the  desired  temperature  of  the  cream 


290  CHURNING 

of  the  next  churning,  the  time  required  to  churn  the  previous 
batch  of  cream.  Under  otherwise  normally  controlled  condi- 
tions, when  the  churning  process  occupies  from  40  to  50  minutes, 
the  butter  usually  has  a  body  and  texture  of  good  firm- 
ness. The  churning  temperature  should  therefore  be  so  adjusted 
as  to  complete  the  churning  process  in  about  40  to  50  minutes. 
For  the  production  of  butter  of  superior  body  and  texture, 
it  is  necessary  to  use  a  churning  temperature  low  enough  to  yield 
a  firm  butter.  This  will  also  facilitate  moisture  control  and  the 
production  of  uniformity  in  color,  as  such  butter  will  stand  a 
sufficient  amount  of  working  to  regulate  the  per  cent  moisture 
as  desired  and  to  effect  a  most  complete  fusion  between  the 
brine  and  water,  without  danger  of  injuring  its  body.  Of  the 
two  evils,  too  low  and  too  high  a  churning  temperature  the 
former  is  by  far  preferable,  while  the  latter  may  cause  real  dam- 
age to  the  market  value  of  the  butter. 

Aside  from  the  physical  and  chemical  properties  of  the  but- 
terfat  and  the  viscosity  of  the  cream,  the  factors  of  length  of 
time  held  at  churning  temperature,  richness  of  cream,  age  of 
cream,  acidity  of  cream  and  fullness  and  speed  of  churn,  should 
be  carefully  considered  by  the  buttermaker  in  his  adjustment 
and  choice  of  the  churning  temperature.  The  relation  of  these 
factors  to  the  churning  is  discussed  in  detail  in  the  following 
paragraphs. 

Time  of  Holding  Cream  at  Churning  Temperature. — The 
cream  should  be  held  at  the  churning  temperature  for  not  less 
than  two  hours  prior  to  churning.  As  previously  explained  the 
chief  purpose  of  churning  the  cream  at  a  temperature  lower  than 
that  at  which  it  is  ripened  is  to  secure  butter  of  satisfactory 
firmness  of  body  and  to  avoid  excessive  loss  of  fat  in  the  but- 
termilk. Cream  would  churn  much  more  rapidly  at  a  some- 
what higher  temperature,  but  under  most  conditions  the  in- 
jury to  the  body  of  the  butter  and  the  abnormal  loss  of  fat 
make  such  practice  prohibitive. 

In  order  to  secure  the  full  benefit  of  cooling  the  cream  to 
the  churning  temperature,  the  cream  must  be  held  at  the  churn- 
ing temperature  for  at  least  two  hours.  Butter  fat  is  an  exceed- 
ingly poor  conductor  of  heat.  It  gives  off  its  heat  slowly  and 


CHURNING  291 

only  upon  prolonged  exposure  to  cold.  If  cooled  to  the  churn- 
ing" temperature  immediately  before  churning,  the  thermometer, 
while  registering  the  correct  temperature,  indicates  the  tem- 
perature of  the  serum  only.  If  such  cream  is  churned  at  once 
the  temperature  during  the  churning  will  rise  rapidly  and  the 
resulting  butter  will  have  a  weak,  slushy  and  leaky  body.  This 
danger  is  avoided  by  cooling  the  cream  to  the  churning  tem- 
perature several  hours  before  churning  and  holding  it  at  that 
temperature.  This  gives  the  fat  globules  an  opportunity  to 
give  up  their  heat  and  to  become  thoroughly  chilled  and 
hardened.  If  the  buttermaker  is  so  situated  that  he  has  to  churn 
without  holding  the  cream  at  the  churning  temperature  for  the 
necessary  length  of  time  before  churning,  he  should  cool  the 
cream  to  a  much  lower  temperature  than  would  otherwise  be 
required,  or  he  may  have  to  add  crushed  ice  to  the  churn  in  order 
to  avoid  injury  to  the  body  of  the  butter  and  heavy  loss  of  fat. 

Richness  of  Cream. — Cream  low  in  butterfat  requires  more 
time  to  complete  the  churning  than  cream  rich  in  fat.  In  the 
thin  cream  the  fat  globules  do  not  coalesce  as  readily  as  in  the 
rich  cream.  They  find  each  other  with  more  difficulty  on  ac- 
count of  the  intervening  serum,  and  the  butter  granules  are 
slow  in  gathering  enough  fat  globules  to  assume  sufficient  size 
to  complete  the  churning.  This  greatly  prolongs  the  churning 
process.  In  winter  when  there  is  no  opportunity  for  the  cream 
to  warm  up  during  the  prolonged  churning  process,  the  butter 
granules  formed  in  the  thin  cream  are  subjected  to  excessive 
concussion,  becoming  round  and  very  compact.  This  condi- 
tion is  prone  to  produce  butter  with  a  low  moisture  content.  Thin 
cream,  owing  to  the  large  amount  of  intervening  and  interfer- 
ing serum,  generally  does  not  churn  out  exhaustively,  exces- 
live  fat  is  lost  in  the  buttermilk,  and  the  loss  of  fat  is  further 
augmented  by  the  relatively  large  amount  of  buttermilk. 

In  the  rich  cream  there  is  less  intervening  serum, 
the  fat  globules  are  closer  together,  they  find  each  other  readily 
and  they  churn  out  more  rapidly.  Since  the  richer  cream  churns 
more  rapidly,  the  butter  granules  are  subjected  to  less  grind- 
ing against  each  other.  They  retain  their  original  shape  more 
completely,  are  irregular  in  shape,  flaky  and  less  compact. 
In  this  condition  they  do  not  drain  as  readily  and  lose  less 


292  CHURNING 

ture  during  the  process  of  working.  There  being  less  buttermilk 
from  rich  cream,  there  is  less  loss  of  fat  than  from  thin  cream. 
The  above  advantages  hold  good  only  with  cream  of  reasonable 
richness.  Cream  excessively  high  in  butterfat,  such  as  cream  test- 
ing 35  per  cent  and  over,  may  stick  to  the  sides  of  the  churn  and 
fail  to  be  agitated  when  the  churn  revolves.  Such  cream,  espe- 


Fig-.  44.     Dairy  size  Victor  combined       ng,  45.     Minnetonna  Home   butter 
churn  and  worker  maker 

Courtesy  Creamery  Package  Mfg.  Co.     Courtesy    Davis-Watkins    Dairymen's 

Mfg.  Co. 

daily  when  churned  at  a  relatively  high  temperature,  is  prone  to 
produce  butter  with  a  greasy  body  and  containing  excessive 
buttermilk,  which  it  is  difficult  to  remove.  Cream  with  a  low 
fat  content  can  be  churned  at  a  higher  temperature  without 
injury  to  the  quality  of  the  butter  than  cream  rich  in  fat.  The 
most  suitable  richness  of  cream  for  churning  lies  within  the 
range  of  30  to  33  per  cent  fat. 

Acidity  of  Cream. — Sour  cream  churns  more  rapidly  and 
more  exhaustively  than  sweet  cream.  This  is  chiefly  due  to 
the  reduced  viscosity  in  the  sour  cream.  Sweet  cream  is  natu- 
rally viscous  and  this  viscosity  lessens  the  concussion  to  which 
the  fat  globules  are  subjected  and  hinders  the  globules  from 
striking  each  other  with  sufficient  force  to  coalesce.  Sour  cream 
has  lost  much  of  its  viscosity  and  is  granular  in  body,  the  acid 
having  changed  the  physical  make-up  of  the  proteids  and  the 
mechanical  properties  of  the  cream.  Excessive  loss  of  fat  by 
sweet-cream  churning  may  be  avoided  by  lowering  the  churn- 
ing temperature. 


CHURNING  293 

Nature  and  Amount  of  Agitation. — In  order  to  facilitate 
the  bringing  together  and  adhering  to  each  other  of  the  fat 
globules,  they  must  be  subjected  to  agitation  and  concussion. 
This  is  accomplished  in  the  churn.  While  there  is  a  great 
variety  of  churns  on  the  market,  the  entire  assortment  of  churns 
may  be  grouped  into  two  principal  classes,  namely  churns  in 


Fig*.   46.     Perfection   Dreadnatig-ht 
Courtesy  of  J.  G.  Cherry  Co. 

which  the  cream  is  agitated  by  means  of  an  internal  agitator, 
and  churns  in  which  the  agitation  is  brought  about  by  the 
motion  of  the  churn  itself. 

The  first  class,  the  churns  with  agitators,  represents  the 
older  styles  of  churns.  The  old  dash  churn  is  a  typical  repre- 
sentative of  this  principle.  The  agitator  may  have  an  up-and- 
down  motion  or  it  may  revolve  in  the  churn  like  a  paddle 
wheel.  Churning  by  the  use  of  the  dash  churn  is  a  laborious 
task,  the  amount  of  concussion  produced  for  the  energy  ex- 
pended is  comparatively  low.  Another  objection  to  this  type, 
of  churn  is  that  all  the  butterfat  does  not  churn  out  simultane- 
ously, considerable  time  elapses  between  the  first  appearance 
of  the  butter  granules  and  the  completion  of  the  churning,  and 
the  stirring  motion  of  the  agitator  or  paddles  has  a  tendency 
to  partly  destroy  the  grain  of  the  first  granules  formed,  mak- 
ing butter  of  a  poor  texture.  Furthermore,  the  dash  churns  are 
not  conducive  to  maximum  exhaustiveness  of  churning  and 
usually  cause  a  relatively  great  loss  of  fat  in  the  buttermilk. 

The  second  group  of  churns,  the  churns  in  which  the  agi- 
tation is  brought  about  by  the  motion  of  the  churn  itself,  repre- 


294  CHURNING 

sents  the  type  of  churns  now  almost  exclusively  in  use  in  this 
country.  Some  of  these  churns  have  a  swinging  motion,  but 
the  majority  are  revolving  or  rotating  barrels  or  boxes.  From 
the  point  of  view  of  efficiency  of  agitation  the  hollow  barrel 
or  box  churn  is  the  most  desirable.  The  rotating  motion  of 
the  churn  causes  the  fat  globules  to  strike  the  sides  of  the  churn 
and  the  concussion  thus  produced  hastens  the  formation  of  the 
butter  granules.  The  churns  of  small  capacity  such  as  are  used 
on  the  farm  are  usually,  though  not  necessarily,  entirely  hollow, 


rig1.  47.     Giant  Dibrow  churn 
Courtesy  Davis-Watkins  Dairymen's  Mfg.  Co. 

turning  end  over  end,  while  the  great  majority  of  the  factory 
churns  are  equipped  in  their  interior  with  rollers  and  workers, 
and  with  shelves  attached  to  the  sides  of  the  churn,  raising  the 
butter  and  dropping  it  on  the  rollers  at  least  once  with  every 
revolution  of  the  churn. 

Speed  of  Churn. — Aside  from  the  style  or  construction  of 
churn,  the  amount  of  agitation  and  concussion  materially  de- 
pends on  the  speed  of  the  churn.  The  speed  which  produces 
the  maximum  agitation  and  at  which  the  churning  is  completed 
in  'the  shortest  time  is  that  which  will  subject  the  particles 
of  cream  to  the  most  rapid  fnotion  upon  one  another.  Up  to  a 
certain  point  an  increase  in  the  speed  of  the  churn  increases 
the  concussion  of  the  particles  of  the  cream.  But  when  the 
speed  is  carried  to  the  point  where  the  centrifugal  force  causes 
the  cream  to  partake  of  the  motion  of  the  churn,  the  motion  of 
the  particles  of  cream  upon  one-another  is  diminished,  the  con- 


CHURNING  295 

cussion  of  the  fat  globules  is  lessened,  and  the  churning  process 
is  retarded.  For  maximum  concussion,  therefore,  the  churn 
should  revolve  at  the  highest  speed  consistent  with  the  absence 
of  centrifugal  motion  of  the  cream  and  that  permits  the  cream 
to  fall  from  side  to  side  of  the  churn.  The  exact  speed  which 
accomplishes  this  condition  varies  somewhat  with  make  of 
churn,  the  fullness  of  the  churn  and  the  richness  of  the  cream. 
Under  average  normal  conditions  it  has  been  found  that  the 
churn  should  revolve  at  a  maximum  speed  of  about  thirty 
revolutions  per  minute. 

Amount  of  Cream  in  the  Churn. — Other  conditions  being 
the  same,  when  the  churn  is  about  one-third  to  one-half  full 
the  cream  is  subjected  to  the  maximum  concussion.  The  am- 
ount of  cream  in  the  churn  bears  a  direct  relation  to  the  agita- 
tion of  the  cream.  The  fuller  the  churn  the  more  difficult  it 
is  to  produce  thorough  agitation  and  the  more  time  is  required 
for  the  formation  of  the  butter  granules.  When  the  churn  is 
too  full  the  cream  is  also  more  prone  to  foam  and  swell,  which 
makes  the  completion  of  the  churning  next  to  impossible,  with- 
out first  removing  some  of  the  cream.  Under  such  conditions 
there  usually  is  also  excessive  loss  of  fat  in  the  buttermilk. 

With  too  little  cream  in  the  churn,  the  cream,  if  it  is  rich 
in  butterfat  and  thick,  is  prone  to  adhere  toi  the  sides  of  the' 
churn,  it  will  then  either  revolve  with  the  churn  or  slide  back 
along  the  side  of  the  churn.  In  either  case  the  process  of 
churning  is  delayed.  If  the  cream  is  thin,  the  granules  are  dif- 
ficult to  gather.  Too  little  cream  in  the  churn  has  the  additional 
disadvantage  that  the  control  of  the  temperature  is  difficult,  and 
in  case  of  a  warm  churn  room,  the  cream  may  warm  up  con- 
siderably and  the  butter  is  apt  to  be  excessively  soft.  In  the 
case  of  thin  or^  medium  rich  cream  and  at  a  low  temperature 
the  butter  granules  of  small  churnings  in  a  large  churn  are 
subjected  to  excessive  agitation,  striking  against  the  sides  of  the 
churn  with  much  force.  This  makes  them  very  compact,  inten- 
sifying the  expulsion  of  water,  thus  tending  to  reduce  the 
overrun. 

From  the  above  discussion  it  should  be  clear  that,  for 
quickest  and  best  results,  the  size  of  the  churning  should  be 


296  CHURNING 

adjusted  to  the  size  of  the  churn  and  that  a  churn  about  one- 
third  to  one-half  full  will  do  most  satisfactory  work.  The 
crowding  of  the  churn,  in  order  to  make  one  churning  out  of 
two,  is  usually  poor  economy  of  time.  More  time  is  required 
to  churn  out  the  butter  from  an  overfilled  churn  than  by  divid- 
ing the  cream  into  two  batches  and  churning  each  separately. 

Preparation  of  the  Churn. — Before  the  cream  is  transferred 
to   the   churn,   the   churn   should   be   properly   prepared    as    to 


rig-.  48.     Heavy  Duty  Dual  churn 
Courtesy  Creamery  Package  Mfg.  Co. 

cleanliness  and  temperature.  New  churns  generally  have  a  pro- 
nounced woody  odor  which  is  prone  to  be  absorbed  by  the  but- 
ter unless  the  churn  is  previously  treated  to  remove  this  odor. 
If  the  churn  is  a  new  one  that  has  never  been  used,  or  an  old 
one  that  has  been  laying  idle  for  some  time,  it  should  be  soaked 
with  a  solution  of  milk  of  lime  or  other  alkali  -solution  for  sev- 
eral days  before  it  is  used.  Milk  of  lime  is  preferable  because 
it  helps  in  hardening  and  closing  the  pores  of  the  wood,  thus 
assisting  in  excluding  grease,  curd  and  other  impurities  which 
are  prone  to  lodge  and  which  sooner  or  later  become  the  cause 
of  a  foul  smelling  churn.  Other  alkali  solutions,  such  as  wash- 
ing powders,  sal  soda,  etc.,  while  effective  as  purifiers,  tend  to 
soften  the  wood  and  to  leave  its  pores  open.  Lime  has  the 
further  advantage  of  absorbing  and  removing  from  the  churn 
woody  and  other  undesirable  odors.  Brine  or  buttermilk  are 
frequently  used  for  removing  the  woody  odor.  While  these 


CHURNING  297 

remedies  may  help  to  remove  the  woody  odor,  they  are  less 
satisfactory  for  other  reasons.  Brine,  though  it  has  limited  anti- 
septic properties,  with  age  becomes  stale  and  sometimes  foul 
unless  it  is  more  concentrated  than  is  generally  the  case,  and 
buttermilk  has  elements  of  decomposition,  such  as  curd  and 
a  variety  of  germ  life  with  which  it  is  undesirable  to  fill  the  open 
pores  of  the  new  churn. 

The  churn  containing  the  milk  of  lime  should  be  revolved 
frequently  so  as  to  expose  all  parts  of  the  churn  to  the  lime 


Pig-.  49.     Simplex  churn 
Courtesy  D.  H.  Burrell  &  Co. 

emulsion.  When  the  soaking  has  been  completed — after  not  less 
than  three  days — the  milk  of  lime  is  drawn  off  and  the  churn 
is  washed  out  thoroughly  and  with  several  washings  of  water, 
the  last  of  which  should  be  boiling  hot.  Care  should  be  taken 
that  all  particles  of  undissolved  lime  are  completely  removed, 
otherwise  the  butter  will  pick  up  this  insoluble  grit  and  incor- 
porate it. 

Churns  that  are  not  in  constant  use  should  be  kept  filled 
with  milk  of  lime  while  riot  in  use.  This  will  prevent  them 
from  becoming  leaky,  due  to  drying  out  and  shrinking  of  the 
staves.  It  also  prevents  the  churn  from  becoming  foul-smell- 
ing which  is  so  often  the  case  with  idle  churns,  due  to  the  pres- 
ence in  the  cracks  and  pores  of  the  wood  of  decomposing  rem- 
nants of  cream,  butter  and  buttermilk.  These  fermenting  im- 
purities and  germs  tend  to  imbed  themselves  in  the  wood  in 


298  CHURNING 

an  inactive  churn  until  it  is  almost  impossible  to  dislodge  them. 
The  milk  of  lime  soaking  into  the  wood  inhibits  their  growth, 
both  because  of  the  purifying  action  of  the  lime  and  because 
of  the  exclusion  of  air.  Even  churns  which  are  in  daily  use  are 
benefitted  by  a  weekly  treatment  with  milk  of  lime. 

Immediately  after  the  butter  is  removed  from  the  churn, 
the  churn  should  be  rinsed  out  with  two  rinsings  of  boiling-hot 
water.  The  first  rinsing  should  contain  some  good  washing 
powder,  the  second  rinsing  should  be  done  with  clear,  pure  hot 
water.  It  is  advisable  to  revolve  the  churn  for  several  minutes 
on  high  gear  while  rinsing.  The  churn  should  not  be  rinsed  with 
cold  water  for  the  .last  rinsing,  because  cold  water  will  not 


Fig*.  5O.     Heavy  Duty  Victor  churn 

Courtesy  Creamery  Package  Mfg.  Co. 

evaporate,  causing  the  churn  to  become  watersoaked  and  musty. 
On  the  next  day,  immediately  before  filling  the  churn  with  the 
cream,  it  should  be  thoroughly  steamed,  and  then  rinsed  with 
clean,  cold  water  so  as  to  thoroughly  chill  it. 

Most  churns  in  use  are  constructed  of  wood,  usually  of 
cypress.  Cypress  is  most  resistent  to  the  swelling  action  of  water 
and  to  fungus  attacks.  The  temperature  control  is  easier  in 
wooden  churns  than  in  metal  churns.  Some  farm  churns  are 
made  of  iron,  tinned  on  the  inside.  These  churns  are  easily 
kept  sweet  and  clean,  but  they  are  objectionable  when  used  in 
a  warm  room  because  the  cream  is  prone  to  warm  up  during 
the  churning  process,  causing  the  butter  to  become  soft. 


CHURNING  299 

The  churn  should  be  kept  clean  on  the  outside  as  well 
as  on  the  inside.  This  is  best  accomplished  by  washing  it  often 
with  hot  water  and  soap  or  washing  powder.  It  should  be 
painted  at  least  once  per  year.  Two  coats  of  white  lead 
followed  by  a  coat  of  enamel  paint  give  the  churn  a  sanitary 
appearance  and  a  smooth  surface  that  is  easy  to  keep  clean. 
Before  the  paint  is  applied  all  loose  paint,  rust,  remnants  of 
cream  and  alkali  should  be  removed. 

The  churn  door  openings  should  be  equipped,  when  the 
churn  is  not  in  use,  with  frames  covered  with  cheese  cloth  or 
fine  wire  mesh  netting  to  keep  out  flies,  dust  and  other  impu- 
rities. The  churn  door  frames  and  the  doors  themselves  should 
be  kept  in  good  repair  to  avoid  loss  of  cream  by  leaking.  Old 
and  worn-out  cork  packing  can  easily  be  replaced  by  new,  and 
broken  door  catches  should  be  promptly  replaced  by  new  ones. 

If  the  churn  does  not  drain  properly  a  one-inch  hole  may 
be  bored  in  the  side  of  the  churn  at  its  lowest  place.  The  churn 
should  be  so  located  that  the  operator  has  easy  access  to  the 
gear  end  for  repairs  and  for  frequent  oiling.  The  churn  should 
be  oiled  daily.  The  condition  of  clutches  and  rollers  should 
receive  constant  attention  and  the  starting  of  the  churn  should 
be  done  with  care  and  not  too  suddenly,  in  order  to  save  clutches 
and  cogs.  At  best  the  life  of  the  churn  is  short,  but  its  period 
of  usefulness  is  much  shortened  by  careless  handling'  and  neg- 
lect. It  is  a  good  plan  to  take  the  churn  apart  in  winter  when 
the  buttermaker  has  time  and  to  make  such  repairs  and  order 
such  new  parts  as  may  be  necessary  in  order  to  forestall  serious 
trouble  and  delay  during  the  heavy  season. 

Sticky  Churns. — Occasionally  great  difficulty  is  experienced 
to  keep  the  butter  from  sticking  to  sides,  ends  and  rollers  of  the 
churns.  In  many  cases  this  trouble  is  caused  solely  by  not  hav- 
ing the  churn  properly  chilled,  before  it  is  filled  with  cream, 
the  butter  sticking  to  the  warm  wood  surface.  In  such  cases 
the  recurrence  of  the  difficulty  may  readily  be  avoided  by  thor- 
oughly chilling  the  churn  with  cold  water  or  with  ice  water 
before  filling  it  with  cream. 

In  many  other  instances,  however,  the  churn  does  not  fe- 
spond  to  this  treatment  and  the  butter  continues  to  stick,  due 


300  CHURNING 

to  the  fact  that,  owing  to  improper  care,  the  wood  of  the  churn 
has  become  loaded  with  grease  and  alkali.  The  most  effective 
remedy  against  stickiness  then,  is  to  treat  the  churn  with  a  chem- 
ical that  will  free  the  pores  of  the  wood  from  the  grease  and 
alkali,  and  that  is  to  rinse  out  the  churn  with  a  dilute  solution 
of  sulphuric  acid,  using  one  quart  of  commercial  sulphuric  acid 
in  100  gallons  of  water  and  running  the  churn  with  this  acid 
solution  for  about  an  hour.  The  churn  must  then  be  rinsed 
thoroughly  with  several  washings  of  hot  water. 

Straining  the  Cream. — The  cream  should  be  strained  into 
the  churn.  This  is  best  done  by  inserting  a  strainer  with  fine 
perforations  into  the  churn  door  opening.  These  strainers  can 
be  obtained  from  any  one  of  the  reliable  creamery  supply 
houses.  The  straining  is  necessary  in  order  to  break  up  and 
keep  out  of  the  churn,  lumps  of  curd  which  might  otherwise  be 
incorporated  in  the  butter  and  give  rise  to  white  specks  and 
other  irregularities  in  color.  The  proper  straining  of  the  cream 
will  also  avoid  insoluble  foreign  matter,  impurities  flies, 
etc.,  from  being  churned  into  the  butter.  In  farm  buttermak- 
ing  on  a  small  scale  the  use  of  a  strainer  dipper  is  a  very  con- 
venient way  whereby  the  cream  may  be  strained  as  it  enters 
the  churn. 

Addition  of  Butter  Color. — The  market  demands  that  butter 
be  uniform  in  color,  and  the  successful  manufacturer  must 
supply  that  which  the  consumer  wants.  The  natural  color  of 
butter  is  that  which  is  naturally  yielded  by  cows  feeding  upon 
green  pasture.  This  color  is  of  a  bright  golden  yellow.  Ac- 
cording to  Palmer1  this  yellow  color  is  due  to  the  yellow  pigment 
carotin  and  xanthophyll,  found  in  fresh  green  feeds  and  which 
accompany,  and  are  hidden  by,  the  chlorophyll.  During  the 
flush,  of  the  milk  producing  season  the  great  majority  of  the 
cows  are  on  green  pasture,  therefore  the  great  bulk  of  butter 
has  this  golden  yellow  color  as  a  natural  ingredient.  Towards 
fall  when  the  pastures  begin  to  dry  up,  the  natural  color  of  the 
butter  becomes  lighter  and  in  winter,  when  the  cows  are  on 
dry  feed,  butter  is  only  faintly  yellow,  the  exact  shade  of  color 

1  Palmer,    "The  Yellow   Color   in   Cream   and  Butter,"    Missouri  Circular   74, 
1915. 


CHURNING  301 

varying  considerably  with  the  kind  of  feed,  the  breed  of  cows 
and  the  period  of  lactation.  The  Channel  Island  breeds  produce 
a  more  highly  yellow  butter  than  the  Holsteins  and  Ayrshires, 
and  at  the  beginning  of  the  period  of  lactation  the  cream  and 
butter  have  a  deeper  shade  of  yellow  than  after  the  cows  have 
been  in  milk  for  some  months.  All  green  feeds  and  yellow  roots 
intensify  the  yellow  color  of  butter  while  most  dry  roughage, 
grains  and  mill  by-products  tend  to  diminish  the  yellow  color 
of  milk  and  dairy  products.  (See  also  "Color  Defects  of  Butter," 
Chapter  XVII.) 

In  order  to  maintain  uniformity  of  color,  or  the  color  of 
summer  butter,  throughout  the  year,  in  fall,  winter,  early  spring 
and  in  times  of  drought  during  the  summer,  butter  is  artificially 
colored.  For  this  purpose  a  variety  of  butter  colors  is  used. 

A  suitable  butter  color  must  be  free  from  ingredients  injuri- 
ous to  the  health  of  the  consumer,  it  should  have  such  strength 
of  coloring  that  only  a  very  small  quantity  need  be  added  to 
cream  in  order  to  give  the  butter  the  desired  shade  of  yellow, 
and  it  must  be  free  from  undesirable  odors  and  flavors  so  as 
to  not  impair  the  quality  and  market  value  of  the  butter. 

Aniline  colors  which  formerly  were  used  extensively  for 
this  purpose  possess  very  intensive  coloring  properties,  but 
their  use  is  prohibited  by  the  Federal  Pure  Food  Act  which 
went  in  force  in  1907.1  While  extracts  from  various  plants 
may  serve  as  butter  colors,  the  bulk  of  butter  color  of  com- 
merce today  is  the  coloring  substance  extracted  from  the  seed 
of  the  Annatto  plant,  Bixa  oreltana,  by  means  of  some  neutral 
oil,  such  as  cottonseed  oil,  or  corn  oil. 

The  extract  of  butter  color  is  made  by  boiling  the  annatto 
seed  in  the  oil  for  several  hours.  During  the  latter  period  of 
the  process  the  heat  is  raised  to  a  very  high  temperature,  about 
240  degrees  F.,  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  a  permanent  solu- 
tion of  the  annatto  coloring  principle  in  the  oil.  The  mixture 
is  then  filtered  through  heavy  canvas,  either  by  gravity  or  un- 

1  On  January  9,  1920,  the  IT.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of 
Chemistry,  S.R.A.-Chem.  24,  announced  the  certification,  subject  to  the  pro- 
visions of  Food  Inspection  Decisions  76,  117  and  129,  the  following  oil-soluble 
coal-tar  dies:  Yellow  A.B.  (Benzeneazo — B — naphthylamine),  and  Yellow 
O.B.  (Ortho-Tolueneazo — B — naphthylamine).  These  two  coal-tar  dies  can 
now  be  legitimately  used  as  butter  colors. 


302  CHURNING 

der  pressure.  The  filtered  oil  constitutes  the  butter  color  of 
commerce.  It  is  perfectly  clear  to  the  eye,  but  under  magnifi- 
cation shows  to  contain  a  very  fine  precipitation  of  suspended 
matter. 

Good  grades  of  annatto  butter  color,  purchased  from  reliable 
manufacturers,  are  made  from  high  grade  annatto  seed  and  oil. 
Such  butter  color  is  free  from  objectionable  flavor  and  odor 
and  from  sediment,  and  it  does  not  deteriorate  readily  in  flavor. 
It  is  not  advisable,  however,  to  purchase  more  than  can  be  used 
in  one  season,  nor  to  buy  it  from  supply  houses  or  stores 
where  it  may  have  been  on  hand  for  years.  It  should  be  pur- 
chased fresh,  from  a  reliable  firm  and  it  should  not  be  carried 
over  summer.  Old,  stale  butter  color  may  deteriorate  and  lend 
butter  objectionable  flavors. 

It  is  not  necessary,  nor  desirable,  to  keep  butter  color  in 
the  cold.  If  made  from  pure,  neutral  oil  and  sound  seed,  butter 
color  does  not  deteriorate  when  kept  at  warm  temperature,  if 
not  more  than  one  season  old.  Annatto,  similar  to  other  vege- 
table colors,  is  a  fugitive  color.  While  the  butter  color  pre- 
pared from  it,  is  not  known  to  bleach  under  conditions  to  which 
it  is  exposed  in  the  creamery,  it  may  precipitate  and  settle 
out  some  of  its  coloring  principle,  so  that  different  portions  of 
color,  drawn  from  the  same  package,  may  not  produce  the  same 
shade  of  yellow  in  butter,  causing  dissatisfaction  when  the  but- 
ter reaches  the  market.  Low  temperature,  abrupt  changes  of 
temperature,  exposure  to  air  and  agitation  accelerate  the  preci- 
pitation of  butter  color. 

The  drums,  cans  or  other  containers  of  butter  color  should, 
therefore,  be  stored  in  a  place  where  the  temperature  is  fairly 
uniform,  and  preferably  at  room  temperature,  and  their  con- 
tents should  be  protected  against  excessive  agitation  and  expo- 
sure to  air.  The  practice  of  pumping  the  butter  color  out  of 
the  drum  when  it  is  needed,  tends  to  incorporate  considerable 
air  in  it  and  to  produce  excessive  and  repeated  agitation,  both 
of  which  conditions  invite  precipitation.  It  is  preferable  to  lay 
the  drum  on  a  sleeper  and  attach  a  spigot  to  one  end  of  the 
drum  from  which  the  butter  color  can  readily  be  drawn  when 
needed. 


CHURNING  303 

The  amount  of  butter  color  to  be  used  varies  greatly  with 
locality,  season  of  year  and  markets.  In  localities  where  the 
Channel  Island  breeds  greatly  predominate,  less  artificial  color- 
ing is  needed  than  where  the  cream  comes  largely  from  Holstein 
and  Ayrshire  cows,  the  latter  naturally  producing  a  butter  with 
a  much  lighter  shade  of  yellow. 

During  the  summer  months  and  as  long  as  the  cows  are 
on  succulent  pasture  the  natural  shade  of  yellow  is  quite  sut- 
ficient  for  the  bulk  of  the  trade  and  no  artificial  butter  color  is 
needed.  Towards  fall  the  natural  color  of  butter  becomes  light- 
er, necessitating  the  addition  of  small  amounts  of  artificial 
color  in  order  to  suit  the  trade.  As  the  intensity  of  the  natural 
color  diminishes,  in  late  fall  and  winter,  more  artificial  color  is 
needed  to  maintain  a  uniform  shade  of  yellow.  This  is  due  to  the 
cows  being  on  dry  feed  and  to  the  advanced  stage  of  the  period  of 
lactation  of  the  majority  of  cows. 

The  demand  of  the  market  is  an  important  factor  deter- 
mining the  amount  of  color  to  be  added.  American  markets 
demand  a  higher  shade 'of  yellow  than  European  markets.  The 
southern  markets  require  a  deep  yellow  butter,  the  eastern  and 
northern  markets  a  straw  color.  The  Jewish  trade  demands 
uncolored  butter. 

The  amount  of  artificial  butter  color  that  must  be  added, 
then,  varies  greatly  under  these  diverse  conditions  and  it  ranges 
from  none  to  about  4  ounces  for  every  100  pounds  of  fat  in 
the  churn. 

One   ounce   of  butter   color   for   every   hundred  pounds  of 
butter  fat  in  the  churn  is  a  fair  average  amount.     For  the  con- 
venience   of   the    farm   buttermaker    the    following   equivalents 
of  one  ounce  per  100  pounds  of  fat  are  given : 
For  100  pounds  fat   use    1    ounce  color 
For       1  pound     fat  use  5  drops  color 
For  1  gallon     30%  cream  use  12  drops  color 
For  5  gallons  30%  cream  use  1  teaspoonful  color. 

The  above  figures  should  be  considered  only  as  very  ap- 
proximate averages,  which  it  may  be  necessary  to  modify  in 


304  CHURNING 

order  to  make  them  suitable  to  prevailing  conditions  of  breed 
season  of  year,  feed  and  market  demands.  These  figures  may 
prove  serviceable,  however,  to  the  beginner. 

Analine  butter  colors  are  much  more  intensive  in  their  color- 
ing properties  than  annatto  butter  color.  Hence  when  using 
the  now  certified  and  permissible  analine  colors,  the  amount  re- 
quired is  very  much  less  than  above  indicated  in  the  case  of 
annatto  color. 

As  a  matter  of  principle  the  use  of  artificial  butter  color, 
though  sanctioned  by  tradition  and  by  law,  should  be  limited 
to  the  minimum  needed  to  satisfy  the  trade.  The  demand  of 
the  trade  for  a  highly  colored  butter  is  overestimated  by  the 
average  buttermaker  and  much  butter  is  colored  to  a  deeper 
shade  than  necessary  or  desirable.  The  present  tendency  of 
the  butter  trade  is  for  a  lighter  colored  butter. 

The  best  time  to  add  the  butter  color  is  after  the  cream 
has  been  transferred  to  the  churn  and  before  the  churn  is 
closed.  If  this  has  not  been  done,  as  is  frequently  the  case  due 
to  an  oversight,  it  may  be  added  to  and  mixed  with  the  salt  just 
before  working.  It  is  then  worked  into  the  butter  and  dis- 
tributed when  the  salt  is  worked  in.  This  practice  cannot  be 
recommended  for  general  use,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  work- 
ing the  butter  sufficiently  to  effect  a  complete  and  uniform  dis- 
tribution of  the  color  without  overworking  the  butter.  It 
should  be  resorted  to  only  in  emergencies.  The  butter  color 
when  added  in  this  way  should  be  mixed  with  the  dry  salt; 
being  an  oily  emulsion  it  does  not  mix  well  with  water  or 
wet  salt. 

Gas  in  the  Churn. — During  the  first  five  minutes  of  churn- 
ing considerable  pressure  develops  in  the  churn.  This  is  caused 
by  the  expulsion  of  gases  from  the  cream  and  the  consequent 
expansion  of  the  air.  This  pressure  has  a  slight  tendency  to 
minimize  the  agitation  of  the  cream  and  to  cause  excessive 
leakage  of  cream.  It  is  advisable,  therefore,  to  open  the  vent 
of  the  churn  once  or  twice  during  the  first  five  minutes  of 
churning  to  release  this  pressure. 

Stopping  the  Churn. — Under  normal  conditions  the  churn- 
ing* is  completed  and  the  churn  is  stopped,  when  the  butter  has 


CHURNING  305 

gathered  in  granules  of  the  size  of  wheat  or  corn  kernels. 
While  the  size  of  the  granules  is  only  one  of  the  many  indica- 
tions of  the  completion  of  the  churning  process,  and  while  it  is 
not  necessarily  an  infallibly  sure  sign,  it  furnishes  the  most 
practical  index  for  the  buttermaker  to  tell  when  to  stop  the 
churning  process. 

When  the  butter  first  breaks,  the  butter  granules  formed 
are  very  small  and  the  buttermilk  still  has  a  rich,  creamy, 
opaque  appearance.  From  this  point  on,  under  normal  con- 
ditions, the  formation  of  additional  butter  granules,  the  coales- 
cence of  the  small  granules  into  larger  ones  and  the  completion 
of  the  churning  take  place  rapidly.  When  the  churning  is  com- 
pleted the  buttermilk  should  have  lost  its  creamy  consistency  and 
opaqueness  and  should  have  a  thin,  bluish,  watery  appearance 
and  should  be  free  from  butter.  If  the  churning  comes  from 
different  lots  of  cream  of  different  degrees  of  ripeness,  or  of 
different  ages,  the  completion  of  the  churning  requires  more 
time  and  it  is  necessary  to  churn  to  larger  granules.  The  but- 
ter from  the  sour  and  older  cream  breaks  first.  If  the  churn 
is  stopped  when  the  butter  granules  are  no  larger  than  small 
corn  kernels,  the  chances  are  that  the  fat  of  the  sweeter  or 
fresher  cream  is  not  completely  churned  out  yet  and  there  is 
much  loss  of  fat  in  the  buttermilk. 

The  underchurning  or  stopping  of  the  churn  when  the  but- 
ter granules  are  very  small,  always  tends  to  cause  excessive 
loss  of  fat.  The  smaller  fat  globules  churn  out  more  slowly 
than  the  larger  ones,  and  at  this  stage  a  large  number  of  the 
smaller  globules  need  further  agitation  to  coalesce  into  butter 
granules  of  sufficient  size  to  stay  in  the  churn  or  strainer  when 
the  buttermilk  is  drawn  off.  If  these  small  granules  are  very 
hard,  either  on  account  of  the  natural  firmness  of  the  fat  or 
churning  at  a  low  temperature,  the  formation  of  larger  granules 
and  the  completion  of  the  churning  will  occupy  considerable 
time.  If  the  butter  granules  are  soft,  the  granules  increase  in 
size  very  rapidly.  These  phenomena  are  further  intensified  by 
the  richness  of  the  cream.  Thin  cream  delays,  while  rich  cream 
hastens,  the  coalescence  of  the  granules.  If  the  churning  process 


306  CHURNING 

must  be  stopped  when  the  butter-granules  are  still  very  small, 
excessive  loss  of  fat  may  be  avoided  by  allowing  the  churning 
to  rest  undisturbed  for  about  ten  minutes.  This  gives  the  smaller 
granules  an  opportunity  to  rise  to  the  surface  and  adhere  to 
the  butter. 

Overchurning,  that  is,  the  formation  of  large  granules  or 
lumps,  is  objectionable,  because  of  the  excessive  incorporation 
of  buttermilk  which  may  prove  injurious  to  the  keeping  quality 
of  the  butter.  In  the  case  of  churning  cream  of  a  poor  quality, 
this  incorporation  of  buttermilk  is  especially  objectionable,  be- 
cause of  its  tendency  to  give  the  butter  an  unclean,  coarse  and 
rank  flavor  and  to  hasten  fermentations  in  the  butter  detri- 
mental to  its  quality.  In  the  case  of  poor  cream,  therefore,  it 
is  important  to  stop  the  churn  when  the  granules  are  still 
small,  consistent  with  reasonable  exhaustiveness  of  churning. 
In  this  case  the  buttermilk  will  drain  off  readily  and  can  be 
washed  out  thoroughly.  Butter  from  poor  cream  should  ba 
drained  well  and  washed  in  several  lots  of  water.  Overchurn-^ 
ing  may  also  cause  injury  to  the  body  of  the  butter.  If  the 
butter  granules  are  very  soft,  overchtirning  is  difficult  to  avoid, 
because  of  the  very  rapid  coalescence  and  lumping  together  of 
the  granules  after  the  breaking  point  has  been  reached. 

Some  buttermakers  practice  overchurning  for  the  purpose 
of  incorporating  moisture  in  the  butter.  The  popular  concep- 
tion, that  overchurning  causes  the  finished  butter  to  be  high 
in  moisture,  is  not  well  founded  and  would  hold  good  only  iu 
the  case  of  very  soft  butter.  When  the  churning  temperature 
is  at  all  normal  and  the  butter  granules  are  reasonably  firm, 
as  they  should  be,  there  is  no  tangible  reason  why  large  gran- 
ules should  make  butter  containing  more  moisture  than  small 
granules.  The  supposition  is  that  the  large  granules  lock  up 
a  great  deal  of  moisture.  Experimental  data  do  not  bear  this 
out.  On  the  contrary,  they  suggest  that  overchurning,  if  it 
has.  any  effect  at  all  on  the  moisture  content  of  the  finished 
product,  tends  to  pound  the  moisture  out  of  the  butter. 


CHURNING  307 

The  frequent  occurrence  of  overchurned  butter  with  an 
abnormally  high  moisture  content  is  not  the  result  of  over- 
churning,  but  is  usually  due  to  the  weak  body  of  the  butter 
for  which  other  conditions,  such  as  soft  butter  fat,  high  churn- 
ing temperature,  or  cream  that  was  not  held  at  the  churning 
temperature  long  enough,  are  responsible  and  which  conditions 
are  also  responsible  for  the  overchurning.  It  is  difficult  to 
stop  the  churn  before  the  butter  is  overchurned  in  the  case 
of  cream  that  is  not  cooled  sufficiently  to  make  the  butter 
come  reasonably  firm. 

Overchurning  has  a  tendency  to  injure  the  grain  of  the 
butter.  Danger  of  this  type  is  especially  great  when  the  but- 
ter granules  are  small  and  firm,  like  shot,  and  when  an  effort 
is  made  to  secure  larger  granules  by  a  prolonged  continuation 
of  the  churning  process.  This  condition  occurs  generally  when 
the  cream  is  very  thin  and  cold.  Additional  churning  causes 
excessive  friction  between  these  granules  and  often  results  in 
a  salvy  butter.  This  may  be  avoided  to  some  extent  by  draw- 
ing off  a  part  of  the  buttermilk,  The  greater  density  of  the 
butterfat  in  the  churn  thus  produced,  hastens  the  completion 
of  the  churning  and  avoids  unnecessary  injury  to  the  grain  of 
the  butter. 

In  order  to  secure  butter  of  a  good  body  the  individuality 
of  the  butter  granules  should  be  preserved.  Injury  to  the  gran- 
ules, as  the  result  of  overchurning,  causes  injury  to  the  body 
of  the  butter,  usually  making  it  salvy  or  greasy. 

Churning  Difficulties. — Churning  difficulties  are  occasion- 
ally experienced.  In  the  majority  of  cases  when  the  butter 
granules  are  exceptionally  slow  in  gathering,  and  when  the 
churning  process  is  greatly  prolonged,  the  cause  lies  in  the 
peculiar  character  of  the  butterfat  and  the  great  viscosity  of 
the  cream.  These  abnormal  conditions  are  chiefly  due  to  cer- 
tain individual  cows.  They  therefore  are  encountered  largely 
only  where  butter  is  made  on  the  farm  and  from  the  cream  of 
one  or  a  few  cows  only.  In  the  creamery  the  cream  supply  is 
derived  from  a  comparatively  large  number  of  cows,  which 
differ  in  breed,  lactation  and  feed,  so  that  abnormal  cream 


308 


CHURNING 


Table  48. — Showing  Effect  of  Size  of  Butter  Granules  on 
Moisture  Content  of  Butter.1 


o     » 

Buttermilk 

Revolutions 

Moisture,    % 

(D  £ 

. 

8»-J= 

2  • 

Il» 

3 

c 

Date 

|| 

c~3  § 

58|g 

j 

all 

1 

1 

11 

1 

11 

& 

P| 

I1! 

fe  fc, 

II 

1|| 

1 

1 

|l 

i 

1908 

1    . 

August  18  ... 

1 

49 

i 

.75 

56 

54 

10 

12 

14.69 

49 

1 

.75 

56 

55 

10 

12 

13.90 

August  22  ... 

2 

48 

i 

.42 

56 

55 

10 

12 

14.62 

48 

1 

.09 

56 

56 

10 

12 

14.47 

August  25  ... 

3 

48 

\ 

.60 

55 

55 

10 

12 

14.57 

48 

1 

.40 

54 

54 

10 

12 

14.46 

August  29  ... 

4 

50 

i 

.42 

56 

56 

10 

12 

13.71 

50 

I 

.39 

56 

56 

10 

12 

13.30 

1912 

March  26  ... 

5 

56 

1 

58 

58 

10 

20 

23.64 

19.87 

15.48 

56 

2* 

57 

57 

10 

20 

15.57 

14.04 

15.00 

April  13    .... 

6 

57 

i 

.70 

59 

55 

10 

20 

30.66 

26.66 

13.12 

57 

14 

.55 

59 

55 

10 

20 

17.47 

15.63 

14.44 

April  16   .... 

7 

56 

i 

.30 

57 

55 

10 

20 

25.53 

14.68 

56 

li 

.27 

57 

55 

10 

20 

14.70 

13.42 

13.54 

April   17   .... 

8 

49 

I 

.20 

55 

56 

10 

20 

23.70 

14.13 

49 

I 

.25 

55 

56 

10 

20 

15.84 

13.47 

13.38 

April   18   .... 

9 

51 

i 

.20 

55 

56 

10 

20 

21.77 

19.20 

14.45 

51 

1 

.15 

55 

56 

10 

20 

14.35 

12.77 

12.70 

April  20   .... 

10 

49i 

ft 

.10 

53 

56 

10 

20 

25.00 

19.66 

14.59 

49 

i 

.10 

53 

56 

10 

20 

14.07 

13.46 

13.92 

April  23    .... 

11 

50 

I 

.20 

53 

54 

10 

16 

19.83 

19.07 

13.84 

50 

8 

.17 

53 

54 

10 

16 

15.64 

13.61 

13.84 

April  24    .... 

12 

50 

I 

.15 

54 

55 

10 

20 

21.28 

19.57 

13.86 

50 

1 

.25 

54 

55 

10 

20 

15.61 

14.00 

14.27 

April  25    .... 

13 

50 

I 

.10 

54 

55 

10 

20 

24.04 

18.58 

14.15 

50 

I 

.10 

54 

55 

10 

20 

13.37 

13.32 

13.21 

April  27   .... 

14 

50 

& 

.25 

54 

56 

10 

20 

22.55 

18.63 

14.78 

50 

8 

.30 

54 

54 

10 

20 

15.50 

14.63 

15.00 

April  30   .... 

15 

49 

I 

.17 

54 

56 

10 

20 

22.33 

17.65 

15.00 

49 

1 

.15 

54 

56 

10 

20 

16.24 

.  12.88 

13.01 

Average  for  small  granules  ~  23.66 

19.87 

14.38 

Average  for  large  granules  and  liirn 

OS 

15.30 

13.74 

13.89 

1  The  churnings  of  the  different  experiments  ranged  from  319  to  1420 
pounds  and  the  per  cent  of  fat  varied  from  21  to  35.  In  all  churnings  of  the 
same  experiment  the  amount  and  richness  of  the  cream  were  the  same. 

1  Hunziker,  Mills  and  Spitzer,  Moisture  Control  of  Butter,  Purdue  Bulletin 
No.  160,  1912,  page  387. 


CHURNING  309 

of  this  type  becomes  greatly  diluted  with  cream  that  is  normal 
in  its  churnability  and  causes  no  material  disturbance  in  the 
churnability  of  the  whole  churning. 

Certain  cows  when  they  have  been  in  milk  five  to  six, 
months  persist  in  yielding  cream  which  churns  with  great  dif- 
ficulty, and  the  butter  granules  of  which  are  exceedingly  slow 
in  gathering.  The  difficulty  is  usually  accompanied  by  very 
great  loss  of  fat  in  the  buttermilk. 

The  same  difficulty  is  experienced  frequently  with  cream 
from  old  cows  and  from  cows  which  have  not  been  with  calf 
for  a  long  time.  This  condition  is  usually  intensified  by  the 
feeding  of  dry  roughage  and  certain  kinds  of  grain.  Examina- 
tion of  such  cream  invariably  shows  that  it  either  is  abnormally 
viscous,  or  contains  unusually  small  fat  globules,  or  that  its 
butterfat  is  unusually  hard,  containing  a  low  per  cent  of  oleiri, 
or  a  combination  of  two  or  all  of  these  conditions.  As  ex- 
plained under  "Conditions  Affecting  the  Churnability  of  Cream," 
all  of  these  conditions  make  the  formation  of  butter  granules 
difficult  and  therefore  retard  the  churning  process. 

These  conditions  occur  usually  in  the  fall  and  early  winter 
when  the  cows  are  on  dry  feed  and  are  well  advanced  in  their 
lactation.  In  some  cases  the  abnormal  condition  of  the  milk 
can  be  minimized  by  the  addition  to  the  feed  ration  of  some 
succulent  feed,  such  as  corn  silage  or  roots,  or  some  grain  rich 
in  vegetable  oil,  such  as  linseed  meal.  The  succulence  increas- 
es the  milk  flow  and  tends  to  reduce  the  viscosity.  The  grain 
rich  in  vegetable  oil  increases  the  per  cent  of  olein  causing 
the  butterfat  to  be  of  softer  character.  In  the  majority  of 
cases,  however,  the  cow  refuses  to  respond  to  a  change  of  feed 
at  the  end  of  her  period  of  lactation.  After  parturition  the, 
milk  usually  is  normal  again  and  the  cream  churns  readily. 

In  numerous  cases  the  churning  difficulties  reported  are 
not  due  to  any  abnormal  condition  of  the  cream  as  produced 
by  the  cow,  but  to  faulty  methods  of  manufacture.  •  The  cream 
has  undergone  peculiar  fermentations  which  cause  it  to  become 
abnormally  viscous,  a  cream  very  low  in  butterfat  is  produced, 
the  churn  is  filled  too  full,  or  the  churn  revolves  too  fast  or  too 
slow. 


310  CHURNING 

In  the  majority  of  cases  the  churning  difficulties  will  yield 
wholly  or  to  some  extent  at  least,  to  proper  treatment  of  the 
cream.  A  reasonably  rich  cream  containing  about  30  per  cent 
fat,  ripened  to  about  .6  per  cent  acid,  churned  at  the  proper 
temperature  and  in  a  churn  not  more  than  one-third  to  one- 
half  full,  seldom  refuses  to  churn  out.  If  it  foams  and  swells 
in  the  churn,  further  agitation  is  useless  until  the  foam  has 
sub^si'ded.  If  the  frothing  is  due  to  too  much  cream  in  the 
churn,  the  quickest  way  to  churn  the  cream  is  to  remove  a 
portion  of  the  cream  from  the  churn  and  make  two  churnings. 
If  the  swelling  is  due  to  churning  at  too  low  a  temperature,  the 
difficulty  may  be  overcome  by  adding  a  small  amount  of  warm 
water.  The  same  treatment  will  often  also  increase  the  churn- 
ability  of  cream  which  is  abnormally  viscous  as  above  described. 
If  warm  water  is  added  to  the  cream  the  amount  of  water  used 
should  be  small,  otherwise  churning  difficulties  may  arise  as 
the  result  of  too  great  dilution  of  the  cream. 

Churning  difficulties,  not  due  to  overloading  the  churn 
may  also  be  remedied  by  the  addition  to  the  churn  of  some  dry 
salt.  The  salt  has  a  greater  affinity  for  water  than  the  casein 
has.  The  salt  helps  to  precipitate  or  to  "salt  out"  the  curd 
due  to  dehydration  or  withdrawal  of  water  from  the  casein. 
This  causes  the  casein  to  contract  and  the  cream  to  become 
less  viscous. 

In  most  cases  of  churning  difficulties  not  due  to  an  over- 
loaded churn,  the  turning  of  the  hot  water  hose  over  the  outside 
of  the  revolving  churn  will  hasten  the  "breaking"  of  the 
butter.  The  resulting  slight  warming  of  the  churnbarrel  breaks 
the  adhesion  of  the  cream  to  the  sides  of  the  churn,  the  cream 
drops  and  concussion  is  resumed. 


WASHING  THE:  BUTTER  311 

CHAPTER  XI. 

WASHING,  SALTING  AND  WORKING  THE  BUTTER. 
Washing  the  Butter. 

Purpose. — The  chief  purpose  of  washing  the  butter  is  to 
free  the  butter  granules,  after  the  buttermilk  has  been  drawn 
from  the  churn,  from  such  remnants  of  buttermilk  as  may  adhere 
to  them.  Other  objects  may  be  to  harden  the  butter,  in  case 
the  butter  shows  a  weak  body,  and  to  remove  undesirable  flavors 
in  case  the  original  cream  was  of  poor  quality. 

Drawing  off  Buttermilk. — When  the  churning  process  is 
complete,  the  buttermilk  is  drawn  from  the  bottom  of  the  churn 
and  the  butter  should  be  allowed  to  drain  thoroughly.  If  the 
butter  granules  are  very  small  their  separation  from  the  butter- 
milk and  their  rising  to  the  surface,  may  be  facilitated  by  the 
addition  to  the  churn  of  a  little  cold  water.  When  the  butter- 
milk has  considerable  commercial  value  and  a  steady  trade  has 
been  established  for  it,  the  practice  of  pouring  water  into  the 
churn  before  the  buttermilk  is  removed  is  obviously  objection- 
able. In  this  case  excessive  loss  of  fat  may  be  avoided  by  leav- 
ing the  churning  at  rest  for  about  10  minutes  before  drawing 
off  the  buttermilk.  This  gives  the  smaller  granules  an  op- 
portunity to  rise  to  the  surface  and  to  attach  themselves  to  the 
mass  of  butter. 

In  order  to  avoid  the  escape  of  butter  granules  the  butter- 
milk should  be  strained.  In  farm  buttermaking  the  use  of  a 
fine  hair  sieve  or  of  a  dipper  strainer  is  convenient  for  this 
purpose.  For  creamery  buttermaking  a  cone-shape  or  cylindrical 
tin  or  wire  mesh  strainer  is  inserted  in  the  buttermilk  outlet  of 
the  churn.  These  strainers  can  be  purchased  from  creamery 
supply  houses. 

Addition  of  Water.— After  the  buttermilk  is  removed,  the 
butter  should  be  allowed  to  drain  thoroughly.  Then  the  wash 
water  is  added,  using  about  as  much  water  as  there  was  but- 
termilk. The  churn  is  then  given  a  few  revolutions  to  agitate 
the  contents  gently  and  to  facilitate  the  washing  of  the  granules. 
The  wash  water  is  then  withdrawn,  the  butter  again  allowed 
to  drain  and  the  washing  is  repeated  by  the  addition  of  a  second 


312  WASHING  THE:  BUTTER 

batch  of  water.  Under  normal  conditions  this  second  washing 
should  be  practically  clear.  If  it  shows  milkiness  the  butter 
should  be  washed  a  third  time.  The  butter  should  be  washed 
until  the  wash  water  runs  off  clear.  Usually  two  washings  are 
sufficient. 

If  the  butter  comes  from  cream  of  good  quality  the  least 
amount  of  washing  consistent,  with  the  complete  removal  of 
the  free  buttermilk,  is  preferable.  Excessive  exposure  of  the 
butter  to  the  cold  wash  water  tends  to  rob  the  butter  of  its 
fine,  delicate  flavor  and  to  cause  such  butter  to  assume  a  more 
or  less  flat  taste.  The  loss  of  the  fine  flavor  is  due  to  the  power 
of  the  cold  water  to  absorb  some  of  the  aromatic,  volatile  and 
soluble  substances  characteristic  of  good  butter.  Sweet  cream 
and  cream  only  slightly  soured  requires  comparatively  little  wash- 
ing for  the  removal  of  the  buttermilk,  because  the  solids  in  such 
buttermilk  are  largely  in  solution  or  in  very  fine  suspension 
similar  as  the  solids  in  milk.  In  this  fluid  condition  the  solids 
of  the  buttermilk  are  removed  readily. 

In  the  case  of  cream  of  poor  quality,  and  of  highly  acid 
cream,  it  is  advisable  to  wash  the  butter  very  thoroughly,  to 
increase  the  number  of  washings  and,  if  the  butter  shows  very 
pronounced  off-flavors,  to  hold  the  wash  water  in  the  churn  for 
a  while  (10  to  20  minutes).  This  gives  the  volatile  substances 
and  free  acids  of  old  and  overripe  cream  an  opportunity  to  pass 
off  into  the  wash  water,  liberating  the  butter  made  from  such 
cream  from  some  of  its  undesirable  flavors  and  odors.  An  ad- 
ditional washing  with  sweet  skim  milk  may  greatly  help  to 
improve  the  flavor  of  such  butter. 

Butter  in  the  form  of  very  small  granules,  washes  more 
readily  and  more  quickly  than  butter  in  the  form  of  large  granules 
and  lumps,  less  water  and  less  manipulation  of  the  butter  is 
required.  The  finer  the  granules  the  more  surface  is  exposed 
to  the  wash  water  and  the  more  facile  the  removal  of  the  but- 
termilk. The  removal  of  the  buttermilk  requires  more  washing 
in  the  case  of  large  granules  of  butter.  Other  things  being  the 
same,  excessive  washing  of  very  fine  granules  of  butter  is  objec- 
tionable because  of  excessive  loss  of  the  delicate  flavoring  prin- 
ciples which  are  partly  soluble  in  the  cold  water,  making  the 


WASHING  THE  BUTTER  313 

butter  flat  in  flavor.  When  butter  is  churned  into  large  lumps 
there  is  not  so  much  danger  from  this  source.  Small  granules 
are  also  more  sensitive  to  variations  in.  temperature.  All  of 
these  conditions  point  to  the  desirability  of  washing  small  gran- 
ules of  butter  more  rapidly  and  less  extensively  than  butter 
in  the  form  of  lumps. 

In  the  case  of  churns  which  tend  to  unduly  mass  the  but- 
ter during  the  washing  process,  thorough  removal  of  the  but- 
termilk is  difficult.  In  such  cases  it  is  advisable  to  spray  the 
first  washing  over  the  butter  granules  from  the  hose  or  by  other 
means,  with  the  buttermilk  gate  open,  until  the  drain  loses  its 
milky  appearance  and  then  add  the  second  washing  in  the  usual 
way. 

Where  the  subsequent  working  of  the  butter  is  done  in  the 
churn,  as  is  now  the  case  in  most  American  creameries,  the 
washing  is  best  done  in  the  churn  also,  by  giving  the  churn 
a  few  revolutions  after  each  addition  of  wash  water.  Where 
the  butter  is  taken  out  of  the  churn  for  subsequent  working, 
as  is  usually  the  case  in  farm  buttermaking  on  a  small  scale, 
the  butter  may  be  washed  in  the  churn  before  it  is  placed  on 
the  worker,  or  the  water  may  be  poured  over  the  butter  on  the 
worker. 

As  a  whole,  defects  in  the  body  of  the  butter  cannot  be 
overcome  by  any  particular  method  of  washing  or  temperature 
of  wash  water,  though  they  may  be  somewhat  minimized.  The 
character  of  the  body  of  the  butter  is  determined  prior  to,  and 
during  the  churning  process,  incident  to  the  formation  of  the 
butter  granules.  If  a  good,  solid,  compact  body,  free  from 
slushiness,  leakiness  and  weakness  is  desired,  the  cream  must 
have  been  cooled  to  the  proper  churning  temperature  and  held 
there  long  enough  to  yield  firm  granules  of  butter.  It  is  at 
this  point  that  the  stability  of  the  emulsion  of  water-in-fat  is 
determined.  If  it  is  not  accomplished  then,  the  butter  is  prone 
to  have  a  defective  body  regardless  of  the  process  of  washing 
and  working. 

Temperature  of  the  Wash  Water. — The  temperature  of  the 
wash  water  should  be  regulated  according  to  the  firmness  or 
softness  of  the  butter.  Inasmuch  as  the  mechanical  firmness 


314  WASHING  THE  BUTTER 

of  the  butter  is  a  somewhat  fluctuating  factor  and  is  difficult 
of  definite  description,  it  is  not  feasible  to  lay  down  all-embrac- 
ing directions.  .  . 

Under  all  normal  conditions,  however,  and  with  butter  of 
reasonable  firmness,  wash  water  with  a  temperature  of  a  few 
degrees  (2  to  4  degrees)  below  the  temperature  of  the  butter- 
milk is  usually  advisable.  Wash  water  much  warmer,  or  much 
colder  than  this  tends  to  have  an  unsatisfactory  effect  on  the 
body  and  texture  of  the  butter  and  may  indirectly  disturb  the 
uniformity  of  the  color.  To  a  limited  extent  it  also  interferes 
with  the  control  of  moisture. 

Such  wash  water,  coming  in  direct  contact  with  the  exterior 
of  the  butter  granules  only,  causes  uneven  temperature  and  firm- 
ness of  different  parts  of  the  butter.  The  outside  of  the  granules 
changes  in  firmness  according  to  the  temperature  of  the  wash 
water,  while  their  interior  retains  the  original  temperature  of 
the  butter.  In  this  condition  the  distribution  of  the  salt  and 
brine  and  the  fusion  of  brine  and  water  is  made  difficult  and 
lacks  uniformity  throughout  the  body  of  the  butter.  This  un- 
even distribution  of  the  salt  and  incomplete  fusion  of  brine  and 
water  invites  excessive  migration  of  brine  and  water  after  the 
butter  is  placed  at  rest  (in  the  cold  room)  resulting  in  mottles 
or  streaks  in  color,  and  particularly  in  the  case  of  excessively 
warm  washwater  the  butter  is  prone  to  show  a  leaky  body. 

If  the  butter  is  very  soft  and  of  weak  body,  however,  it 
may  be  necessary  to  use  wash  water  of  a  temperature  5  to 
10  degrees  or  more  lower  than  that  of  the  buttermilk,  ajid  to  allow 
the  butter  to  rest  in  the  cold  water  for  some  time  to  give  it  a 
chance  to  harden.  In  extreme  cases  it  may  be  desirable  to  put  ice 
into  the  churn  in  order  to  temporarily  improve  the  body  of  the 
butter  so  it  can  be  handled.  It  should  be  understood  that  when 
the  cream  has  been  properly  handled  before  churning,  especial- 
ly as  to  churning  temperature  and  holding  at  that  temperature 
before  churning,  there  is  little  danger  of  a  weak-bodied  and 
leaky  butter  and  these  special  precautions  are  unnecessary. 
These  precautions  refer  only  to  churnings  where  the  cream 
was  either  churned  at  too  high  a  temperature  or  was  not  held 
long  enough  at  the  churning  temperature,  conditions  which 
produce  a  soft,  weak,  slushy  and  leaky  body.  In  such  cases 


WASHING  THE  BUTTER  315 

they  will  help  to  minimize  the  .defect,  but  an  ideal  body  of 
butter  under  these  conditions  should  not  be  expected,,  and  exces- 
sively soft  butter  so  exposed  to  very  cold  water  will  be  prone 
to  be  flat  and  possibly  tallowy  in  flavor.  It  also  will  not  stand 

up  well  on  the  market. 

• 

Effect  of  Wash  Water  Temperature  on  Moisture  Content 
of  "Butter. — High  temperatures  of  wash  water  tend  toward  a 
slight  increase  in  moisture  content  of  the  butter.  However, 
this  effect  on  the  per  cent  water  in  butter  is  not  as  marked  as 
is  generally  believed.  The  butter  fat  is  a  poor  conductor  of  heat 
and  the  short  time  during  which  the  butter  is  ordinarily  exposed 
to  the  wash  water  is  not  sufficient  to  materially  affect  its  mech- 
anical firmness,  provided,  of  course,  that  the  butter  is  in  fairly 
normal  condition.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that 
the  washing  of  the  butter  in  warm  wash  water  does  tend  to- 
wards a  softening  of  the  butter.  Though  this  influence  seerns 
to  be  very  slight,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  modify  the  effect  of 
the  subsequent  working.  If  this  butter  is  worked  "with  the 
churn  doors  closed  and  consequently  in  the  presence  of  water 
it  may  take  up  slighly  more  water.  When  worked  with  the 
churn  doors  ajar  this  butter  cannot  take  up  appreciably  more 
moisture.  Butter  washed  with  cold  water  tends  to  be  some- 
what firmer  and  in  this  condition  it  may  lose  somewhat  more 
moisture  when  worked  with  the  churn  doors  ajar.  If  the  tem- 
perature of  the  wash  water  does  influence  the  moisture  content 
of  butter  at  all,  the  effect  is  indirect  rather  than  direct  and  de- 
pends largely  on  the  extent  to  which  the  butter  is  drained  and 
worked  subsequently.  These  facts  are  clearly  demonstrated  in 
Table  49. 

Overchurning  Butter  in  Wash  Water. — Buttermakers  fre- 
quently churn  their  butter  in  the  wash  water  for  the  purpose  of 
moisture  incorporation. 

When  butter  is  churned  in  the  wash  water  at  normal  tem- 
perature the  butter  granules  gather  into  larger  granules  and 
finally  into  masses.  If  the  original  granules  are  round,  smooth 
and  firm,  they  do  not  readily  lose  their  identity  but  remain 
largely  intact.  Under  these  conditions  the  churning  in  the  wash 
water  has  no  marked  effect  on  the  moisture  content  of  the 


316 


WASHING  THE  BUTTER 


Table  49. — Effect  of  Temperature  of  Wash  Water  on  Moisture 
Content  of  Butter. 

(Experiments     conducted     in     Purdue     University     Creamery, 

Lafayette,  Ind.)1 


a 

0 

gg  . 

Revolutions 

• 

Date 

If 

i* 

||i 

Appro*.   Size  of 
Granules. 

Hi 

!ti 

| 

i 

jf 

P 

sfa 

p| 

Diam.  Inches 

ill 

IP 

1 

M 
1 

r 

1911 

April    4.. 

1 

32.0 

56 

T/B  to  54  angular 

58 

54 

10 

18 

13.64 

32.0 

56 

5^  to  54  angular 

60 

64 

10 

18 

14.24 

April    5.. 

2 

33.5 

56 

H  to  54  angular 

60 

54 

15 

16 

15.45 

35.0 

56 

5^  to  54  angular 

60 

64 

15 

16 

15.95 

April    7.. 

3 

29.5 

56 

Y%  to  54  angular 

60 

54 

15 

16 

16.31 

31.0 

56 

H  to  54  angular 

60 

64 

15 

16 

14.75 

April    11. 

4 

32.0 

56 

^s  to  54  angular 

60 

54 

15 

20 

15.38 

32.0 

56 

H  to  54  angular 

60 

64 

15 

12 

14.99 

April    12. 

5 

31.0 

56 

5^5  to  54  angular 

60 

54 

15 

12 

15.07 

31.0 

56 

H  to  54  angular 

60 

64 

15 

12 

15.79 

April    12, 

6 

30.5 

56 

5^  to  54  angular 

58 

54 

10 

18 

13.22 

31.0 

56 

^  to  54  angular 

58 

64 

10 

18 

13.52 

April    18.- 

7 

29.5 

53 

54  to  %i  angular 

55 

54 

15 

18 

13.30 

29.5 

52 

54  to  IHi  angular 

53 

65 

15 

18 

13.91 

April    18. 

8 

29.5 

55 

5^  to  54;  angular 

57 

54 

15 

14 

14.64 

29.5 

54 

5^}  to  54  angular 

54 

65 

15 

14 

14.54 

Average  at  54  degrees  F 

14.62 

Average  at  64  deerrees  to  65  degrees  F.   . 

14.71 

1  Experiments  1,  6  and  1  were  made  with  the  Disbrow  churn.  Experiments 
2,  3,  4,  5  and  8  were  made  with  the  Simplex  churn.  All  cream  was  pasteurized 
at  170  degrees  to  180  degrees  F.  The  cream  for  each  churning  of  the  same 
experiment  was  taken  from  the  same  vat.  The  amount  of  cream  used  in  the 
churnings  of  the  different  experiments  varied  from  250  to  2000  pounds.  The 
same  amount  of  cream  was  used  for  each  churning  of  the  same  experiment. 
In  each  churning  the  butter  was  salted  dry  and  worked  with  the  churn  gates 
open. 

Hunziker,  Mills  and  Spitzer,  Moisture  Control  of  Butter,   Purdue  Bulletin 


WASHING  THE  BUTTER 


317 


finished  butter.  If  the  original  butter  granules  are  irregular  in 
shape,  flaky  and  soft,  they  mass  together  very  readily  and  largely 
lose  their  identity,  forming  solid  lumps  and  masses.  The  pound- 
ing of  the  butter  into  compact  masses  tends  to  expel  moisture 
rather  than  incorporate  it,  causing  a  decrease  in  the  moisture 
content  of  the  finished  butter,  unless  this  butter  is  later  worked 
in  the  presence  of  water  for  the  purpose  of  incorporating  more 
moisture. 

The  above  facts  are  conclusively  borne  out  by  experimental 
results  as  shown  in  the  following  tables: 

Table  50.-^Showing  Effect  of  Over-Churning  Butter  in  Wash 
Water  on  the   Moisture  Content  of  Butter.1 


DATE 

ll 
II 

H 

t 

Churning 
Temperature 
Degrees  F. 

Approx.  Size  of 
Granules, 
Diam.  Inches 

Buttermilk 
Temperature 
Degrees  F. 

Wash  Water 
Temperature 
Degrees  F. 

ll 

Approx.  Size  of 
Granules. 
Diam.  Inches 

Revolutions 
Worked 

jl 

sS 

1910 

November    10... 

1 

24 

52' 

| 

56 

56 

15 

I 

18 

15.01 

24 

52 

I 

56 

56 

50 

3i 

18. 

15.74 

24 

52 

I 

56 

56 

225 

8 

18 

16.48 

November    14... 

2 

23 

54 

I 

58 

54 

10 

i 

13 

15.52 

23 

54 

£ 

58 

54 

150 

1 

13 

15.78 

23 

54 

i 

59 

54 

225 

3£ 

13 

14.89 

November    15... 

3 

26 

47 

i 

57 

52 

10 

\ 

13 

15.35 

26 

47 

i 

56 

52 

150 

3i 

13 

15.35 

26 

47 

i 

56 

52 

225 

8 

13 

14.31 

Average  for  10  to  15  revolutions                   .... 

15.29 

Average  for  50  to  150  revolutions  

15.62 

Average  for  225  revolutions-. 

15.22 

1  Hunziker.  Mills  &  Spitzer  Moisture  Control  of  Butter,  Purdue  Bulletin 
160,  pp.  394  and  395. 

Twenty-four  hundred  pounds  of  cream  were  used  for  each  individual 
churning.  All  cream  was  pasteurized  at  175  degrees  F.  The  butter  in 
Experiment  1  was  salted  wet  and  worked  with  the  churn  gate  open;  the 
butter  in  experiments  2  and  3  was  dry-salted,  worked  one  revolution  with 
the  churn  gate  closed,  then  finished  with  the  churn  gate  open.  The  Victor 
churn,  size  1,  was  used  in  these  experiments. 

Twenty-four  hundred  and  seventy-seven  pounds  of  cream  were  used 
for  each  individual  churning.  The  cream  was  pasteurized  at  150  degrees 


318 


WASHING  THS  BUTTER 


F.  In  Experiments  1  and  3  the  butter  was  salted  dry  and  worked  with 
the  churn  gates  open;  in  Experiment  2  the  butter  was  salted  dry  and 
worked  seven  revolutions  with  the  gates  closed,  then  finished  with  the 
churn  gates  open.  The  Simplex  churn  No.  9  was  used  in  these  experi- 
ments. 


DATE 

P 

•1, 

ill 

o    8 

If! 

Mi 

H! 

CO 

**      <a 

Jsjj 

.  B 

ll 

11 

$? 

*f 

*n 

|5l 

HI 

in 

ll 

gig 

|o| 

32 

1910 

November   29... 

1 

28.5 

54 

i 

57 

57 

6 

1 

18 

15.64 

28.5 

54 

i 

59 

57 

50 

8 

18 

14.51 

November   30.  .. 

2 

31.0 

52 

1 

58 

58 

6 

-1 

19 

15.51 

31.0 

52 

I 

59 

58 

50 

31 

19 

13.28 

December   1.... 

3 

28.0 

58 

i 

60 

58 

6 

1 

19 

14.80 

28.0 

59 

\ 

60 

58 

50 

8 

19 

13.65 

Average  of  6  revolutions  washed  

15.31 

Average  of  50  revolutions  wa'she 

d     

13.81 

How  to  Regulate  the  Wash  Water  Temperature. — In  locali- 
ties where  the  available  water  is  naturally  cool  (50°  F.  or  below), 
such  as  is  the  case  in  the  northern  states  and  in  the  moun- 
tainous regions  with  running  springs,  as  well  as  in  most  locali- 
ties within  the  dairy  belt  in  winter,  the  matter  of  regulating 
the  temperature  of  the  wash  water  resolves  itself  merely  into 
a  proper  arrangement  for  heating.  In  such  cases  the  installa- 
tion of  a  noiseless  water  heater  or  similar  home-made  device 
and  with  an  outlet  directly  over  the  churn,  furnishes  the  usual 
equipment  to  temper  the  wash  water  to  the  desired  temperature. 
In  the  summer  season,  however,  the  water  supply  of  a  great  many 
creameries  is  too  warm.  This  is  true  especially  in  the  central  and 
southern  tier  of  the  dairy  belt.  Under  such  conditions  it  is  neces- 
sary to  provide  for  some  simple  and  practical  system  of  cooling 
the  water.  In  small  creameries  which  have  no  artificial  refriger- 
ating plant  this  is  conveniently  accomplished  by  placing  a  vat 
on  a  platform  high  enough  for  the  water  to  run  into  the  churn 
by  gravity.  The  temperature  of  the  water  in  this  vat  is  lowered 


WASHING  THE  BUTTER  319 

by  the  addition  to  it  of  ice.  In  the  absence  of  a  stationary  plat- 
form the  vat  may  be  placed  on  a  truck  which  can  be  moved  up 
to  the  churn  when  the  wash  water  is  needed.  In  creameries 
operating  an  artificial  refrigerating  machine,  a  large  stationary 
vat  may  be  installed  at  some  elevation  or  on  the  second  floor. 
This  vat  should  be  properly  insulated  on  the  sides,  bottom  and 
top  and  equipped  with  a  brine  coil  or  ammonia  coil  whereby  the 
water  may  be  cooled  to  any  temperature.  The  water  is  piped 
from  this  vat  to  the  churn  where  it  is  connected  with  the  steam 
line.  This  arrangement  furnishes  a  practical  and  reasonably 
efficient  means  to  regulate  the  temperature  of  the  wash  water 
as  desired  for  the  one-churn  creamery. 

For  larger  creameries  which  operate  numerous  churns, 
greater  uniformity  of  temperature  is  assured  and  less  time  is 
consumed  for  temperature  control,  where  the  wash  water  equip- 
ment is  so  arranged  as  to  have  the  cold  water  from  the  brine- 
cooled  sweet  water  tank  on  the  second  floor,  discharge  into  a 
tempering  tank  elevated  in  the  creamery  and  equipped  with 
large  thermometer  gauge  and  steam  supply.  Then  have  from 
the  bottom  of  this  tempering  tank  a  two-inch  water  line  extend 
over  the  entire  row  of  churns  with  a  lateral  and  valve  over 
each  churn. 

In  this  manner  the  wash  water  for  numerous  churnings 
can  be  tempered  to  the  desired  temperature  simultaneously  and 
when  the  churnman  is  ready  for  the  wash  water,  all  he  has  to 
do  is  to  open  the  valve  over  any  one  of  the  churns  where  it 
is  needed. 

The  same  equipment  can  also  serve  for  the  hotwater  supply 
for  rinsing  and  washing  the  churns  after  use. 

In  other  factories,  portable  tempering  tanks  are  used.  In 
this  case,  the  tap  water,  cold  water  and  steam  line  outlets  are 
generally  located  at  some  distance  from  the  churns,  in  a  con- 
venient and  readily  accessible  place  and  at  a  sufficient  height 
so  that  a  portable  wash  water  tank  on  a  truck  can  be  backed 
under  these  outlets  and  filled.  The  use  of  a  suitably  constructed 
tank  on  wheels,  holding  about  100  to  150  gallons  and  standing 
high  enough  so  that  the  gate  of  the  tank  clears  the  bottom  of 
the  door  frame  of  the  churn,  when  the  churn  is  in  position  to 


320  WASHING  THE  BUTTER 

receive  the  wash  water,  has  been  found  serviceable  and  con- 
venient for  this  purpose. 

The  same  arrangement  is  useful  also  for  transferring  the 
hot  water  to  the  empty  churn,  for  washing  and  rinsing  at  the 
close  of  the  day's  work  and  for  rinsing  the  churn  with  cold 
water  preparatory  to  filling  it  with  cream. 

Purity  of  Wash  Water. — It  is  obvious  that  the  water  used 
for  washing  the  butter  should  be  pure.  It  should  be  free  from 
excessive  organic  and  mineral  matter,  from  undesirable  bacteria, 
yeast  and  mold  and  from  grit  or  sand.  Water  from  shallow 
wells,  ponds,  creeks,  lakes  and  similar  sources  is  unsafe  on  ac- 
count of  the  danger  of  contamination  with  organic  and  biolog- 
ical impurities  which  may  prove  detrimental  to  the  quality  of 
butter.  Such  water  should  be  pasteurized  or  filtered,  or  both, 
in  order  to  render  it  harmless.  In  rare  cases  spring  and  deep 
well  water  may  contain  an  excess  of  mineral  constituents, 
such  as  compounds  of  iron,  sulphur,  etc.,  which,  if  used  for 
washing  the  butter  may  greatly  impair  its  flavor;  such  water  is 
unsuitable  for  use  in  the  creamery.  Frequently  the  water  con- 
tains sand  and  grit  which,  when  used  for  washing  butter,  is 
incorporated  in  it  and  offends  the  good  humor  of  the  consumer. 
Sand  may  get  into  the  water  where  a  new  well  is  used,  or 
where  the  water  supply  line  is  being  repaired,  or  in  the  case  of 
leaky  underground  conduits  during  heavy  rains,  or  from  roily 
river  water  during  times  of  freshets.  In  most  of  these  cases 
the  presence  of  sand  is  temporary  only  and,  while  it  lasts,  it 
may  be  kept  away  from  the  butter  by  either  permitting  it  to 
settle  out  in  a  storage  tank,  or  by  attaching  a  fine  mesh  strainer, 
or  tying  several  thicknesses  of  cheesecloth  over  the  end  of  the 
pipe,  that  discharges  into  the  churn,  or  by  filtration. 

Wherever  the  purity  of  the  wash  water  is  uncertain,  it  is 
advisable  to  permanently  install  some  form  of  water  purifier. 
For  the  removal  of  organic  matter  and  grit,  water  filters  should 
be  used.  When  used  properly,  a  cotton  filter  may  serve  the 
purpose  well.  Filters  of  the  type  of  the  "International  Filter," 
in  which  the  water  is  forced  under  pressure  through  a  thick 
layer  of  Cotton  batten,  with  a  heavy  sheet  of  muslin  at  top  and 
bottom,  have  been  found  very  useful.  The  renewal  of  these 


WASHING  THE  BUTTER  321 

filters  is  simple  and  inexpensive.  The  muslin  is  laundried  and 
used  over  again  while  the  soiled  cotton,  charged  with  impurities, 
is  replaced  by  a  new  layer.  These  filters  have  the  additional 
advantage  of  taking  up  very  little  space. 

If  the  creamery  is  troubled  with  roily  water,  these  cotton 
filters  are  not  practical,  because  they  clog  rapidly.  In  such  cases 
sand,  gravel  and  coke  filters  are  preferable.  Home-made  filters 
of  this  type  have  been  found  somewhat  cumbersome,  owing  to 
the  attention  and  extra  work  which  their  care  involves.  There 
are  on  the  market,  however,  very  compact  and  practical  specimens 
of  these  sand,  gravel  and  coke  filters  which  require  but  little  at- 
tention and  which  are  capable  of  freeing  the  water  from  its 
grit  and  probably  from  much  of  its  organic  matter.  They  con- 
sist of  a  closed  iron  drum  which  contains  the  filtering  material 
and  through  which  the  water  is  forced,  and  are  equipped  with  a 
rotary  agitator.  For  cleaning,  the  current  of  water  through 
the  filter  is  reversed  and  the  agitator  is  rotated.  The  opera- 
tion of  cleaning  the  filtering  material  requires  but  very  little 
time  (about  10  minutes)  and  if  this  is  done  daily,  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  directions  furnished  by  the  manufacturer,  these 
filters  can  be  depended  upon  to  do  the  work  expected  of  them 
very  efficiently. 

For  the  effective  removal  of  micro-organisms  from  the  water, 
the  efficiency  of  any  of  these  filters  is  somewhat  questionable. 
Bacteriological  analyses  of  the  filtered  water  show  variable  re- 
sults, probably  depending  on  the  condition  and  care  of  the 
filter.  Under  ordinary  creamery  conditions  they  can  hardly  be 
considered  a  reliable  means  to  free  the  water  from  objectionable 
germ  life. 

In  order  to  render  water  sterile  or  nearly  so,  high  tem- 
perature pasteurization  of  the  water  may  be  practiced,  but  it 
requires  considerable  equipment,  time  and  fuel,  for  heating  and 
cooling.  Of  late  years,  for  the  sterilization  of  drinking  water, 
water  for  swimming  pools,  etc,  the  ultra  violet  ray  process  has 
been  found  very  suitable  and  its  use  is  rapidly  gaining.  Its 
efficiency  has  been  established  by  Government  tests.1  At  the 
present  writing  there  are  no  creameries  as  yet  which  are  using 


1  Public   Health   Report,    Vol.    31,    No.    41,    Oct.,    1916.     U.    S.    Public   Health 
Service. 


322  SALTING  THE  BUTTER 

this  method  of  water  purification,  but  the  increasing  adaptation 
of  electric  power  to  creamery  purposes,  together  with  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  process,  suggests  the  possibilities  of  this  method 
of  purifying  the  water  used  for  washing  butter.  The  initial  ex- 
pense of  an  equipment  of  suitable  capacity  is  somewhat  high 
and  therefore  probably  beyond  the  reach  of  the  small  creamery. 
The  operating  expense  on  the  basis  of  5  cents  per  K.  W.  is  about 
one  quarter  of  one  cent  per  gallon  of  water.  Inasmuch  as  this 
process  is  effective  only  with  perfectly  clear  water  and  does  not 
sterilize  water  that  is  roily,  its  use  would  necessitate  preparatory 
filtration  of  the  water  in  the  case  of  water  that  is  not  naturally 
clear. 

Wherever  the  water  intended  for  washing  the  butter  is 
stored  in  a  tank  reserved  for  this  purpose,  great  care  should 
be  taken,  that  this  sweet  water  tank  is  kept  clean,  and  free 
from  accumulations  of  organic  matter.  It  should  be  completely 
emptied  and  cleaned  out,  if  necessary,  with  the  use  of  odorless 
disinfectants,  at  regular  intervals.  The  brine  or  ammonia  coils 
in  these  tanks  should  be  painted  with  suitable  paint,  so  as  to 
avoid  rusting  and  the  consequent  pollution  of  the  water  with 
rust. 

Creameries  located  in  large  towns  or  cities  usually  have 
access  to  the  water  supply  of  municipal  corporations.  This 
often  solves  for  them  the  problem  of  pure  water,  but  the  use 
of  a  good  filter  is  recommended  even  in  these  cases. 


SALTING  THE  BUTTER. 

Purpose. — The  fundamental  object  for  which  salt  is  added 
to  butter  is  to  lend  it  the  flavor  desired  by  the  consumer — to 
season  it.  Formerly  it  was  believed  that  salted  butter  kept 
better  in  storage,  but  experimental  data,  as  well  as  experience, 
have  demonstrated  that  while  salt  has  undisputed  antiseptic 
properties,  it  has  no  material  effect  on  the  keeping  quality  of 
butter.  The  addition  of  salt  to  butter  is  of  importance  to  the 
creamery  also,  because  with  salted  butter  a  larger  overrun  is 
secured  than  with  unsalted  butter.  This  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  salt  replaces  a  portion  of  the  butterfat. 


SAI/FING  THE  BUTTER  323 

Amount  of  Salt. — The  amount  of  salt  that  should  be  added 
to  butter  should  depend  primarily  on  the  market  for  which  the 
butter  is  intended.  The  salt  requirements  of  different  markets 
vary  somewhat.  American  markets  demand  a  relatively  highly 
salted  butter,  with  the  exception  of  the  Jewish  trade  which  re- 
quires unsalted  butter.  The  English  markets  call  for  a  butter 
that  is  lightly  salted,  while  continental  Europe,  especially 
France,  Southern  Germany,  Switzerland,  etc.,  demand  unsalted 
butter.  Thus  the  salt  content  of  butter,  as  regulated  by  different 
markets,  may  vary  from  no  salt  to  about  four  per  cent  of  salt. 

In  reality,  however,  the  salt  requirements  of  different 
markets  where  salted  butter  is  wanted,  are  salt  tolerances  rather 
than  requirements;  i.  e.  there  is  not  really  a  very  marked  dif- 
ference in  the  amount  of  salt  which  the  salted  butter  trade 
demands,  but  it  is  rather  a  question  of  how  much  salt  the  trade 
will  stand  for  or  tolerate.  The  manufacturer  of  butter  natural- 
ly aims  to  salt  his  butter  heavily,  because  salt  is  cheaper  than 
butterfat.  He  will  furnish  the  trade  just  as  highly  salted  but- 
ter, within  the  limitations  regulated  by  effect  on  quality,  as  the 
trade  will  accept  and  tolerate.  Some  markets  are  more  critical 
and  quicker  to  resent  the  imposition  than  others,  but  none  really 
demand  a  very  highly  salted  butter. 

The  salt  content  of  butter  intended  for  one  and  the  same 
market  should  be  uniform.  Variations  in  the  salt  content  of 
butter  are  detected  by  the  consumer  more  easily  than  similar 
variations  of  any  other  ingredient  of  butter.  Uniformity  of 
salt  content  is,  therefore,  important  in  order  to  satisfy  the  trade. 
In  order  to  accomplish  this,  the  amount  of  salt  to  be  added 
to  any  given  churning  should  be  based  on  the  most  constant 
factor.  On  farm  dairies  and  in  whole  milk  creameries  the 
amount  of  salt  is  frequently  calculated  per  hundred  weight  of 
milk.  In  this  case  from  three  to  four  ounces  of  salt  per  100 
pounds  of  milk  would  produce  a  moderately  salted  butter.  This 
method  gives  fairly  uniform  results.  Others  are  determining 
the  amount  of  salt  needed  on  the  basis  of  the  amount  of  cream 
in  the  churn.  With  the  greater  variability  of  the  richness  of  the 
cream,  this  method  obviously  may  frequently  lack  in  uniformity 
of  results.  In  the  case  of  cream  testing  about  30  per  cent  fat, 
for  instance,  from  one  and  three-quarter  to  two  and  one-half 


324  SAI/TING  THE  BUTTER 

ounces  of  salt  per  gallon  of  cream  would  yield  a  butter  with 
a  moderate  salt  content.  On  farm  dairies  and  in  creameries 
where  the  butter  is  taken  out  of  the  churn  and  placed  on  a 
separate  worker,  the  required  amount  of  salt  is  usually  deter- 
mined by  the  weight  of  the  butter,  using  from  one-half  to  three- 
quarters  of  one  ounce  of  salt  for  every  pound  of  butter  for 
medium  salted  butter.  Where  the  butter  is  worked  and  salted 
in  the  churn  this  method  is  not  practical.  Today  the  great 
majority  of  creameries  are  basing  the  amount  of  salt  to  be  used, 
on  the  pounds  of  butterfat  in  the  churn,  as  calculated  by  the 
weight  and  test  of  the  cream.  This  is  by  far  the  most  accurate 
and  most  satisfactory  method.  Experience  has  shown  that  the 
proper  amount  of  salt  for  the  average  American  market  is  about 
three-quarter  to  one  and  one-half  ounces  of  salt  per  pound  of 
butterfat.  These  figures  are  based  on  a  desired  salt  content  of 
from  2.5  to  3.5  per  cent  under  average  conditions  and  methods 
of  salt  incorporation,  the  latter  being  relatively  crude  from  the 
point  of  view  of  economy  of  salt.  For  salt  tests  see  "Deter- 
mination of  Salt  in  Butter,"  Chapter  XXII. 

Where  the  method  of  manufacture  and  other  conditions  are 
fairly  constant  from  day  to  day,  this  ratio  makes  it  possible 
to  produce  butter  with  a  reasonably  uniform  salt  content.  How- 
ever, the  portion  of  salt  that  remains  in  the  butter  depends, 
aside  from  the  amount  added,  on  such  factors  as  size  and  con- 
dition of  butter  granules,  amount  of  working  which  the  butter 
receives  before  and  after  salting,  the  condition  and  amount  of 
moisture  in  butter  at  the  time  the  salt  is  added,  the  method 
of  salting,  whether  the  salt  is  added  in  dry  form,  in  wet  form, 
or  in  the  form  of  brine,  and  the  type  of  salt  crystals. 

Size  and  Condition  of  Butter  Granules. — If  the  butter  con- 
sists of  small,  round  and  very  firm  granules  the  salt  is  dissolved, 
distributed  and  held  by  the  butter  with  difficulty,  and  much 
of  the  salt  is  lost  in  the  expelled  brine.  If  the  butter  is  reason- 
ably firm  and  the  granules  large  and  irregular,  or  if  the  but- 
ter granules  have  united  into  large  lumps,  the  salt  can  be 
worked  into  the  butter  more  readily,  there  is  less  expulsion 
of  brine  and  therefore  a  relatively  large  proportion  of  the  salt 
added  is  absorbed  by  the  butter.  For  this  reason  the  trench 
system  of  salting  assists  in  the  economic  use  of  the  salt. 


SAI/TING  THE  BUTTER  325 

If  part  of  the  working  is  done  before  salting,  or  if  the  but- 
ter has  been  allowed  to  drain  thoroughly  before  salting  and  the 
churn  gates  are  closed  after  the  salt  is  added  there  is  relatively 
little  loss  of  salt.  In  this  case  the  loss  of  salt  may  not  exceed 
.5  per  cent  under  favorable  conditions. 

Amount  and  Condition  of  Moisture. — Butterfat  is  no  solvent 
of  salt.  '  In  order  for  the  salt  to  dissolve  in  the  butter  there 
must  be  moisture  present.  The  more  moisture  butter  contains 
the  more  salt  it  is  capable  of  holding  in  solution.  Butter  with 
a  low  moisture  content  cannot  hold  much  salt  in  solution.  Ef- 
forts to  incorporate  a  high  per  cent  of  salt  in  dry  butter  usually 
result  in  overworking  and  in  gritty  butter. 

If  the  moisture  is  properly  incorporated  in  the  butter,  the 
slat  will  also  remain  there,  and  butter  containing  a  large  amount 
of  properly  incorporated  moisture  is  therefore  capable  of  re- 
taining a  relatively  high  per  cent  of  salt.  If  the  moisture  is 
incorporated  loosely,  resulting  in  leaky  butter,  the  escape  of 
moisture  in  the  working  and  packing  is  great,  and  there  is  a 
relatively  large  loss  of  salt,  which  causes  the  salt  content  of 
the  finished  butter  to  be  low,  although,  owing  to  the  presence 
of  free  brine  such  butter  usually  tastes  very  briny.  (See  also 
Chapter  XVIII  on  Composition  of  Butter.) 

Method  of  Salting.— The  salt  is  added  to  the  butter  either 
in  dry  form,  as  a  wet  mash,  or  in  the  form  of  brine. 

Dry  Salting  Method. — This  is  the  most  common  method 
used.  The .  salt  is  sprinkled  over  the  butter  in  the  churn,  in 
the  trench,  or  on  the  workers  and  then  worked  into  the  but- 
ter until  it  is  dissolved  and  evenly  distributed.  When  the  but- 
ter is  of  medium  firmness  this  method  works  satisfactorily  and 
there  is  little  danger  from  grittiness  and  mottles.  In  the  case 
of  very  firm  and  hard  butter  the  distribution  and  solution  of 
the  dry  salt,  is  more  difficult  and  requires  often  excessive  work- 
ing, which  in  turn  tends  to  make  an  inferior  texture  of  butter. 
More  often,  however,  the  working  is  stopped  before  the  salt 
is  thoroughly  dissolved  and  the  butter  remains  gritty  and  may 
become  mottled.  In  the  case  of  very  soft  and  slushy  butter  the 
dry  salt  kernels  become  coated  with  a  film  of  fat  before  they 


326  SAI/TING  THE  BUTTER 

have  an  opportunity  to  take  up  enough  moisture  to  insure  com- 
plete solution.  Such  butter  renders  the  complete  solution  of 
the  salt  difficult,  and  is  almost  invariably  gritty. 

Wet  Salting  Method. — In  this  method  the  salt  is  moistened 
either  by  pouring  water  over  the  dry  salt  already  sprinkled  over 
the  butter,  or  placed  into  the  trench  and  before  working,  or 
enough  water  is  added  to  the  salt  in  a  tub  or  pail"  before 
the  salt  is  put  into  the  churn,  to  make  a  salt  mash.  In  order 
to  secure  a  satisfactory  mash  slightly  less  than  one  half  as  much 
water  as  there  is  salt,  by  weight,  should  be  mixed  with  the  salt. 
This  mash  is  then  distributed  over  the  butter,  or  placed  into 
the  trench,  then  the  trench  is  closed  and  the  butter  is  worked. 
This  method  of  wet  salting  is  very  satisfactory  and  preferable 
under  many  conditions  to  the  dry  salting  method.  There  is  less 
danger  of  a  coarse,  briny  flavor,  gritty  butter  and  mottles,  be- 
cause the  salt  is  given  more  favorable  conditions  for  complete 
solution  and  the  brine  formed  has  a  chance  to  completely  fuse 
with  the  finely  divided  water  in  the  butter.  This  largely  removes 
the  difficulties  above  cited  when  salting  very  firm  and  very 
soft  and  slushy  butter. 

In  churns  in  which  the  reduction  of  moisture  is  not  ac- 
complished readily,  as  is  frequently  the  case  with  certain  makes 
of  churns,  wet  salting  slightly  increases  the  tendency  toward  ex- 
cessive moisture.  This  can  be  readily  avoided,  however,  by  drain- 
ing the  butter  more  competely  before  salting.  If  the  bottom  of 
the  buttermilk  gate  happens  to  be  located  considerably  above 
the  bottom  of  the  churn,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  drain  all 
the  free  water  from  the  churn,  the  butter  should  be  drained 
through  the  churn  doors. 

It  is  frequently  claimed  that  salting  lowers  the  per  cent 
salt  retained  in  the  finished  butter.  This  is  not  borne  out  in 
practice.  In  fact  the  salt  crystals  in  the  mash,  because  of  their 
ability  to  go  into  complete  solution  quickly  do  not  draw  the 
water  droplets  of  the  butter  out  as  much  as  the  dry  crystals 
and  therefore  are  more  readily  permanently  incorporated  in  the 
form  of  brine. 

Brine  Salting. — In  this  method  the  salt  is  previously  dis- 
solved in  water,  making  a  saturated  salt  solution.  In  order 


SALTING  THE  BUTTER  327 

to  secure  a  brine  of  maximum  saturation  and  to  hasten  the 
solution  of  the  salt,  the  salt  may  be  dissolved  in  hot  water  and 
the  brine  is  then  cooled  to  the  proper  temperature  suitable  for 
addition  to  the  butter.  This  is  the  ideal  way  of  salting  from 
the  point  of  view  of  completeness  of  solution,  uniform  distribu- 
tion of  salt,  and  absence  of  a  coarse,  briny  flavor  and  grittiness. 
However  this  method  is  practical  only  where  a  very  light  salt  in 
butter  is  desired.  It  is  impossible  to  incorporate  a  high  salt 
content  with  this  method.  Brine-salted  butter  contains  only  from 
one  to  two  per  cent  salt.  And  even  in  order  to  incorporate 
the  maximum  of  two  per  cent  salt  by  this  method  it  is  neces- 
sary to  use  two  separate  batches  of  brine.  One  batch  may  be 
used  in  the  place  of  the  second  washing  and  the  butter  has  to 
be  churned  considerably  in  this.  The  brine  left  in  the  butter 
after  this  brine  washing  is  naturally  very  dilute.  After  the 
first  batch  of  brine  has  been  drawn  off  the  second  batch  is  added. 
This  is  left  with  the  butter  for  five  to  fifteen  minutes.  Care 
should  be  taken  not  to  work  the  butter  in  the  brine  excessively 
in  the  case  of  soft  butter,  in  order  not  to  incorporate  excessive 
moisture.  After  the  second  batch  of  brine  is  drawn  off  the 
working  is  completed.  The  butter  should  be  worked  only  en- 
ough to  properly  distribute  the  brine  and  to  bring  the  butter 
together  in  a  compact  mass  for  easy  handling. 

Butter  with  so  low  a  salt  content  does  not  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  majority  of  American  markets  for  salted  butter, 
hence  this  method  is  not  commonly  used  in  our  creameries.  The 
brine-salting  method  has  the  further  disadvantages  of  being  ex- 
cessively laborious  and  wasteful  of  salt  and  the  low  salt  content 
of  the  finished  product  obviously  results  in  a  relatively  low 
overrun.  In  the  spring  of  the  year  there  is  always  more  or 
less  danger  of  excessive  moisture  where  the  brine-salting  method 
is  practiced. 

Type  of  Salt  Crystals. — The  ease  with  which  salt  dissolves 
and  is  incorporated  in  butter  is  also  influenced  by  the  type  of 
crystals  of  the  salt.  Cube  crystals  which  have  the  smallest 
relative  surface  in  proportion  to  their  cubic  content  absorb  water 
and  dissolve,  more  slowly  than  flake  crystals,  unless  the  size  of 
the  cube  crystals  is  reduced  to  the  point  where  their  relation  of 


328 


SALTING  THK 


Type  of  Salt  Crystals  of  Buttersalts 

Magnified  20  times 


Pig-.  51.     Colonial  Salt 


rig1.  52.     Diamond  Crystal  Salt 


Pig-.  53.     Worcester  Salt 


SALTING  THE  BUTTER  329 

surface  to  cubic  content  is  similar  to  that  of  the  coarser  flake 
crystals. 

Quality  of  Salt. — It  is  important  that  the  salt  used  for  but- 
termaking  be  of  the  very  best  quality.  It  should  have  a  high 
degree  of  purity  both  bacteriologically  and  chemically,  it  should 
be  of  the  proper  physical  consistency  and  should  be  protected 
from  influences  that  jeopardize  its  bacteriological,  chemical  and 
physical  fitness  for  use  in  the  creamery. 

Bacteriological  Purity  of  Butter  Salt. — It  is  obvious  that 
the  salt  should  be  as  free  as  possible  from  germ  life,  lest  it 
become  a  source  of  contamination  of  the  butter.  The  better 
brands  of  butter  salt  on  the  market  come  from  the  salines  in 
practically  sterile  condition.  The  latest  improved  processes 
through  which  the  brine  passes  from  the  time  it  is  pumped  from 
a  depth  of  several  thousand  feet  in  the  ground,  till  it  is  sealed 
in  the  paper-lined  barrels  are  such,  as  largely  to  eleminate  any 
micro-organisms  originally  present  in  the  brine,  and  the  hand- 
ling of  the  finished  salt  occurs  under  conditions  highly  sanitary 
and  reduces  the  danger  of  contamination  of  the  finished  product 
to  the  minimum.  The  increasing  concentration  of  the  brine 
during  the  process  and  the  practically  complete  absence  of  mois- 
ture in  the  salt  when  packed,  in  themselves,  are  conditions  antag- 
onistic to  the  life  of  germs.  The  heat  to  which  the  brine  and 
salt  are  subjected  before  and  incident  to  the  evaporation  and 
again  in  the  final  dryers,  is  destructive  to  all  germ  life  and  the 
packing  of  the  salt  is  done  exclusively  by  machinery  and  while 
still  hot,  thus  removing  the  possibility  of  recontamination  prac- 
tically entirely. 

Bacteriological  analyses  of  the  salt  in  the  sealed  barrels  have 
shewn  such  salt  to  be  either  entirely  sterile  or  to  contain  less 
than  10  germs  per  gram.  When  barrels  are  opened  in  the 
creamery,  however,  and  are  left  uncovered  and  exposed  to  damp- 
ness and  impure  air,  for  a  prolonged  period  of  time,  as  is  the 
case  in  a  great  many  creameries,  the  salt  becomes  damp  and 
often  contains  large  numbers  of  bacteria,  particularly  the  types 
of  micro-organisms  which  render  the  butter  rancid  and  cheesy 
and  possibly  moldy.  Weigmann1  reports  cases  where  the  up- 


1  Weigmann,   Versuche   zur  Bereitung  von   Dauerbutter,    Milchwlrtschaf t- 
liches  Zentralblatt,  Vol.  44,  No.  23,  p.  364,  1915. 


330  S AI/TING  THE;  BUTTER 

per  layers  of  salt  in  an  open  receptacle  contained  as  high  as 
32,000  germs  per  gram,  consisting  largely  of  liquefying  and  non- 
liquefying  micrococci,  alkali  bacilli,  lactic  acid  bacteria,  yeast, 
Bacterium  mycoides,  Mucor,  Penicillium  Actinomyces  and  other 
spore  forms.  These  facts  obviously  show  that  butter  salt  ex- 
posed to  the  atmosphere  may  become  contaminated  with  many 
species  of  micro-organisms,  some  of  which  are  of  the  type 
dangerous  to  the  flavor  and  keeping  quality  of  butter.  They 
emphasize  the  importance  of  keeping  the  salt  well  covered  after 
the  barrel  is  once  opened.  In  a  properly  managed  creamery 
there  should  be  provided  proper  covers  for  the  barrels  that 
have  been  opened  and  not  completely  emptied,  in  order  to  avoid 
this  unnecessary  source  of  contamination  of  the  butter. 

Some  creameries  are  equipped  with  a  salt  chest,  or  bin,  or 
box,  into  which  they  empty  and  in  which  they  store  the  salt. 
These  boxes  are  more  conveniently  accessible  than  the  barrels. 
They  should  be  equipped  with  a  well  fitting  cover  and  located 
away  from  excessive  dampness.  It  is  advisable  to  not  fill  them 
with  more  than  one  barrel  of  salt  at  a  time,  as  the  original  seal 
of  the  unopened  barrel  furnishes  better  protection  than  the 
creamery  salt  chest. 

Chemical  Purity  of  Butter  Salt.— The  best  buttersalts  con- 
tain from  98  to  over  99  per  cent  pure  sodium  chloride.  The 
salts  of  commerce  contain  besides  sodium  chloride,  small  but 
varying  amounts  of  gypsum,  calcium  chloride  and  magnesium 
chloride.  All  of  these  impurities,  when  present  in  considerable 
quantities,  are  undesirable  from  the  standpoint  of  the  quality  of 
butter.  The  gypsum  reduces  the  solubility  of  the  salt  and  the 
magnesium  chloride  tends  to  give  butter  a  distinct  bitter  flavor. 
The  salts  of  magnesium  also  are  very  strongly  hydroscopic, 
augmenting  the  tendency  of  the  butter  salt  in  storage  when  ex- 
posed to  the  air,  to  absorb  moisture  and  to  become  damp  and 
lumpy.  The  butter  salt  should  also  be  free  from  mechanical 
impurities  such  as  dust,  dirt  and  other  organic  matter. 

The  chemical  purity  of  the  salt  is  determined  largely  by 
the  purity  of  the  brine  and  the  process  of  manufacture  used  for 
the  elimination  of  the  natural  impurities  contained  in  the  brine. 
The  purity  of  the  brine  varies  very  considerably  with  the  locali- 


SAI/TING  THE  BUTTER  331 

ty,  in  some  localities  the  wells  yield  a  brine  of  a  relatively  high 
degree  of  chemical  purity,  while  in  other  localities  the  admixture 
of  undesirable  minerals  and  mineral  salts,  such  as  gypsum  and 
magnesium  chloride,  iron,  etc.  is  very  marked.  For  this  reason 
there  is  a  wide  difference  in  the  need  of  purifying  processes 
used  in  the  different  salines,  in  order  to  attain  purity. 

The  brine  from  which  the  butter  salt  is  manufactured  in 
this  country  is  secured  from  wells  which  reach  salt  deposits 
which  lie  anywhere  from  1500  to  3000  feet  below  the  surface. 
When  the  salt  stratum  is  to  be  penetrated  a  double  pipe  is  put 
down.  The  outer  one,  which  represents  the  diameter  of  the  well, 
about  6|  inches,  reaches  the  top  of  the  salt  bed,  while  the  inner 
tube  which  measures  from  3J  to  4|  inches  in  diameter,  goes  clear 
through  to  the  bottom  of  the  salt  deposit.  Fresh  water  is 
pumped  down  the  outer  tube.  This  dissolves  the  rock  salt,  and 
the  brine  thus  formed  under  continued  pressure,  rises  to  the 
surface  through  the  inner  tube  and  is  conveyed  to  large  tanks, 
the  settling  tanks,  where  it  is  allowed  to  settle  and  clarify. 
From  this  point  on  the  brine  is  passed  through  one  of  three 
processes,  the  grainer  process,  the  vacuum  process,  or  the  Ahls- 
berg  process.  These  processes  largely  determine  the  degree  of 
purity  of  the  salt  and  the  shape  of  the  salt  crystals. 

The  Grainer  Process  is  the  oldest  process.  It  simply  con- 
sists of  pumping  the  brine  from  the  storage  or  settling  tanks 
into  large  evaporating  vats  equipped  with  steam  coils  which  are 
charged  with  exhaust  steam.  In  these  vats  the  brine  is  heated 
to  the  boiling  point  under  atmospheric  pressure.  As  the  water 
evaporates,  crystals  form  on  the  surface  where  evaporation  is 
most  rapid.  These  crystals  unite  into  larger  aggregates,  which 
gradually  drop  to  the  bottom  and  are  drawn  out  of  these  vats 
by  mechanical,  slowly-moving  rakes.  These  salt  crystals  are 
piled  on  a  platform  where  they  are  allowed  to  drain  or  they 
are  centrifuged  to  remove  the  bulk  of  the  water  and  are  then 
subsequently  dried  and  run  through  sieves.  No  attempt  is  made 
in  this  process  to  purify  the  brine  from  mineral  impurities, 
except  possibly  to  bleach  it  by  addition  of  small  quantities  of 
lime.  The  chemical  purity  of  the  salt  made  from  this  brine 
will  therefore  almost  wholly  depend  on  the  natural  purity  of 


332  SAI/TING  THE  BUTTER 

the  brine.  The  slow  evaporation  at  a  relatively  high  heat 
causes  the  salt  crystals  to  be  relatively  large  and  flaky,  the 
individual  crystals  appear  to  have  rhomboid  shape,  they  gather 
into  'clusters  forming  large  crystals,  of  the  shape  of  hollow 
pyramids. 

In  the  Vacuum  Process  the  brine  is  conveyed  from  the 
storage  tanks  to  large  heating  tanks,  where  its  temperature  is 
raised  so  that  as  soon  as  it  enters  the  vacuum  pan  evaporation 
commences.  In  the  vacuum  pans,  which  are  huge  iron  retorts, 
the  brine  is  evaporated  at  relatively  low  temperatures  under 
reduced  pressure.  The  evaporation  is  very  rapid.  From  the 
vacuum  pan  the  crystals  are  conveyed  to  centrifuges,  where 
they  are  freed  from  about  95  per  cent  of  their  water.  From 
here  on  the  process  of  drying  and  sifting  is  similar  to  that  of 
the  Grainer  process.  In  the  vacuum  process  in  some  factories 
mineral  impurities  are  removed,  in  part  at  least,  through  a  dis- 
charge chamber  in  the  bottom  of  the  pan  in  which  the  "bitter 
water,"  being  heavier  than  brine  and  remaining  in  solution 
longer,  collects.  The  crystals  produced  by  this  process,  as  the 
result  of  rapid  evaporation  at  low  temperature,  are  cube  shape, 
they  are  very  small  and  remarkably  uniform  in  size. 

In  the  Ahlsberg  Process  the  brine  is  pumped  through  heat- 
ers where  it  is  subjected  to  very  high  temperature  (about  280°  F.) 
under  pressure.  These  heaters  resemble  water-tube  boilers,  the 
brine  flowing  through  the  tubes  and  the  spaces  between  the 
tubes  being  charged  with  steam.  In  these  heaters  the  brine 
deposites  its  gypsum  and  other  impurities  forming  a  coating 
on  the  tubes,  which  is  daily  removed  by  steel  drills.  From 
these  heaters  the  brine  passes  through  gravel  filters  which 
furnish  an  additional  means  to  deposit  the  gypsum.  From 
here  the  brine  enters  large  circular  evaporating  vats.  As  soon 
as  its  pressure  is  released  and  the  brine  passes  into  these  vats, 
crystallization  sets  in.  From  these  crystallizing  vats  the  wet 
salt  passes  through  centrifuges  for  the  removal  of  the  bulk  of 
the  water,  and  the  dryers  and  sieves  as  described  in  the  Grainer 
and  Vacuum  process.  The  Ahlsberg  process  is  particularly 
adapted  for  salines  whose  brine  supply  contains  considerable 
mineral  impurities,  such  as  gypsum  and  which  it  is  capable 


SALTING  THE  BUTTER 


333 


of  very  efficiently  removing.  Crystallization  takes  place  very 
rapidly  and  at  high  temperature  and  the  crystals  are  flaky  and 
of  rhomboid  shape. 

Table  51. — Chemical  Analyses  of  Butter  Salts. 
These  analyses  refer  to  butter  salts  only. 


Brand    of 

Butter    Salt 

Analyses 
Made  By 

Sodium  Chloride 
Per  Cent 

Calcium  Sulphate 
Per  Cent 

Calcium  Chloride 
Per  Cent 

Magnesium 
Chloriae 
Per  Cent 

Insoluble  Matter 
Per  Cent 

II 

is 

Anchor 

Wisconsin1 

97.79 

1.48 

.28 

.08 

.06 

.31 

Ashton 

Wisconsin1 

98.01 

1.47 

.20 

.16 

.03 

.18 

Australian  Dairy 

Canada2 

97.90 

1.03 

.39 

.02 

.38 

.28 

Canfield   and 

Wheeler 

Wisconsin1 

98.18 

1.21 

.22 

.12 

.04 

.23 

Chippewa 

Connecticut3 

98.79 

1.01 

.00 

.03 

.05 

.12 

Colonial 

Cornell4 

99.53 

.29 

.09 

.02 

.03 

.06 

DiamondCrystal 

Wisconsin1 

99.18 

.54 

.19 

.05 

.03 

.01 

DiamondCrystal 

Connecticut3 

99.50 

.45 

.00 

.04 

.01 

.00 

DiamondCrystal 

Connecticut3 

99.54 

.30 

.00 

.07 

.01 

.08 

DiamondCrystal 

Maine5 

99.71 

.23 

.00 

.06 

.00 

.00 

Dominion  Dairy 

Canada2 

96.04 

1.44 

.92 

.00 

.00 

1.60 

Eagle 

Canada2 

98.98 

.47 

.41 

.00 

.00 

.14 

English  Dairy 

Canada2 

97.90 

1.57 

.18 

,  .00 

.00 

.35 

Extra  Dairy 

Canada2 

96.15 

.91 

.84 

.00 

1.90 

.20 

Genesee 

Wisconsin1 

98.27 

1.11 

.24 

.07 

.04 

.16 

Le  Roy 

Canada2 

96.88 

1.40 

.10 

.07 

1.05 

.50 

Le  Roy 

Wisconsin1 

98.15 

1.31 

.39 

.08 

.01 

.06 

Imperial 

Maine5 

98.02 

1.23 

.29 

.04 

.15 

.27 

Peerless 

Maine5 

98.12 

1.14 

.21 

.13 

.00 

.40 

Port  Huron 

Canada2 

97.31 

1.66 

.23 

.00 

.00 

.80 

Purity 

Connecticut3 

98.53 

1.01 

.00 

.11 

.02 

.33 

Warsaw 

Wisconsin1 

98.57 

.92 

.25 

.07 

.02 

.17 

Windsor 

Canada12 

98.08 

1.16 

.00 

.36 

.00 

.40 

Worcester 

Wisconsin1 

98.57 

.92 

.25 

.07 

.02 

.17 

Worcester 

Connecticut3 

98.94 

.59 

.19 

.07 

.01 

.20 

Worcester 

Maine5 

98.53 

.82 

.07 

.13 

.10 

.35 

1  Wisconsin  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Bulletin  74,   1889. 
8  Canada  Internal  Revenue  Department,  Bulletin  128,  1906. 

•  Connecticut  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  Report,  1907-1908. 

*  Cornell  University,  Analysis  by  Prof.  H.  C.  Troy,  Chemist,  1919. 
6  Maine  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  Annual  Report,   1910. 


334  SALTING  THE:  BUTTER 

The  final  drying  process  of  all  butter  salt  is  the  same.  The 
driers  are  huge,  cylindrical,  revolving  drums,  32  to  35  feet  in 
length,  and  six  feet  in  diameter  and  set  at  an  incline  so  that 
the  salt  may  travel  slowly  from  one  end  of  the  drier  to  the 
other.  Heat  is  supplied  by  means  of  steam  pipes  which  pass 
through  the  driers.  The  temperature  in  these  driers  is  about 
280°  F.  The  hot  salt  coming  from  the  driers  is  then  sifted. 
For  butter  salt,  wire  sieves  with  25  to  30  meshes  to  the  inch 
are  used.  After  sifting,  the  salt  is  ready  to  be  packed. 

Most  of  the  better  butter  salts  contain  these  chemical 
impurities  in  exceedingly  small  amounts  only,  are  practically 
entirely  free  from  insoluble  matter  and  contain  less  than  .5 
per  cent  of  moisture.  The  foregoing  table  shows  analyses  of 
diverse  salts  and  indicates  their  relative  freedom  from  chemical 
impurities. 

In  the  consideration  of  the  chemical  analyses  of  butter  salts. 
as  shown  in  table  51,  it  should  be  understood  that  the  composi- 
tion of  different  lots  of  one  and  the  same  brand  not  infrequently 
varies  quite  considerably,  so  that  an  unbiased  and  fair  con- 
clusion concerning  the  relative  merits  of  the  several  salts, 
based  on  their  standard  of  chemical  purity  is  possible  only, 
when  the  respective  analyses  represent  averages  of  a  large 
number  of  samples  of  each  brand  in  question. 

Many  of  the  analyses  shown  in  table  51  represent  but  one 
sample  of  the  respective  brands  and  even  in  the  case  of  figures 
which  do  represent  averages,  only  a  comparatively  few  sam- 
ples of  the  respective  brands  served  to  make  up  these  aver- 
ages. For  these  reasons  it  is  obvious  that  the  figures  in  table 
51  should  be  accepted  only  as  a  general  guide  and  should  not 
be  looked  upon  as  a  guarantee  of  the  standard  of  chemical 
purity  of  the  brands  involved. 

Physical  Condition  of  the  Salt. — It  is  very  important  that 
the  salt  be  present  in  the  form  of  crystals  of  the  proper  form 
and  size.  This  factor  controls  its  readiness  to  dissolve  and 
its  ease  of  being  retained  in  the  butter.  The  crystals  must  be 
of  medium  coarseness.  When  the  crystals  are  excessively  large 
they  dissolve  with  comparative  difficulty,  tending  toward  gritty 


SAI/TING  THE  BUTTER  335 

butter,  or  necessitating  the  overworking  of  the  butter.  Their 
distribution  also  tends  to  be  less  uniform,  the  individual  crys- 
tals are  farther  apart  so  that  their  action  on  the  casein  and  the 
expulsion  of  buttermilk  are  uneven,  and  the  fusion  of  brine  and 
water  in  the  butter  is  slow  and  relatively  incomplete.  This  in 
turn  tends  to  cause  an  uneven  color  in  butter. 

When  the  salt  crystals  are  too  fine,  the  salt  is  prone  to  be 
pasty,  which  renders  its  uniform  distribution  difficult.  Exces- 
sively small  crystals  hinder  the  expulsion  of  buttermilk  because 
the  drops  of  buttermilk  which  each  crystal  is  capable  of  tak- 
ing up  are  so  small,  that  their  complete  and  ready  expulsion 
is  hampered. 

Salt  crystals  of  medium  size,  and  which  will  pass  through 
a  screen  having  25  to  30  meshes  to  the  inch,  are  best  suited 
for  butter  salt. 

With  reference  to  the  shape  or  form  of  the  salt  crystals, 
the  butter  salts  are  divided  into  two  classes,  the  flake  crystal 
salt  and  the  cube  crystal  salt.  The  flake  grain  represents  a 
thin  and  flat  crystal  usually  of  rhomboid  or  pyramid  form,  while 
the  cube  crystal  grain  appears  in  the  form  of  regular-shaped 
solid  cubes.  Since  the  flake  grain,  with  the  flat  thin  crystal, 
exposes  more  surface  in  proportion  to  its  cubic  contents,  than 
the  cube  crystal  with  its  cube  shape,  it  is  obvious  that  the  flake 
grain  salt  dissolves  somewhat  more  readily  and  is  therefore  bet- 
ter suited  for  butter  salt  than  the  cube  crystal  grain,  unless  the 
cube  salt  is  of  sufficiently  smaller  grain  to  reduce  the  cubic  con- 
tents of  the  cube  crystals  in  proportion  to  their  surfaces  to 
that  of  the  coarser, crystals  of  the  flake  salt.  The  difference  in 
the  shape  of  the  crystals  is  due  to  the  temperature  at  which 
the  brine  is  evaporated.  The  flake  grains  are  the  product  of 
evaporation  at  a  high  temperature  (under  atmospheric  pres- 
sure) while  the  cube  crystal  grains  result  from  evaporation  at 
a  relatively  low  temperature  (in  partial  vacuum). 

Solubility  of  Buttersalts. — The  solubility  and  rapidity  of 
solution  of  Colonial,  Diamond  Crystal  and  Worcester  butter 
salts,  representing  the  Grainer,  the  Ahlsberg  and  the  Vacuum 


336  SAI/TING  THE  BUTTER 

process,  respectively,  were  tested  by  Hunziker  and  Hosman.1 
In  the  case  of  butter  containing  16%  water,  and  assuming  that 
all  the  water  in  the  butter  were  accessible  to  the  salt,  these 
results  would  indicate  the  following: 

With  a  2  per  cent  salt  content  in  the  butter  the  brine  would 
contain  11.11  per  cent  salt.  This  concentration  was  reached  in 
5  seconds  with  the  Colonial  and  the  Diamond  Crystal  salts,  and 
in  5J  seconds  in  the  case  of  the  Worcester  salt. 

With  a  3  per  cent  salt  content  in  the  butter  the  brine  would 
contain  15.78  per  cent  salt.  This  concentration  was  reached  in 
6J  seconds  with  the  Colonial  and  Diamond  Crystal  salts,  and  in 
7  seconds  with  the  Worcester  salt. 

With  a  4  per  cent  salt  content  in  the  butter  the  brine  would 
contain  20  per  cent  salt.  This  concentration  was  reached  in  8 
seconds  with  the  Colonial  and  Diamond  Crystal  salts,  and  in 

9  seconds  with  the  Worcester  salt. 

With  a  5  per  cent  salt  content  in  the  butter  the  brine  would 
contain  23.8  per  cent  salt.  This  concentration  was  reached  in 

10  seconds  with  the  Colonial  salt,  in  13  seconds  with  the  Dia- 
mond Crystal  salt,  and  in  21  seconds  with  the  Worcester  salt. 

With  a  5.5  per  cent  salt  content  in  the  butter  the  brine  would 
contain  25.58  per  cent  salt.  This  concentration  was  reached  in 
25  seconds  with  the  Colonial  salt,  in  35  seconds  with  the  Dia- 
mond Crystal  salt,  and  in  41  seconds  with  the  Worcester  salt. 

Inasmuch  as  the  point  of  saturation  of  pure  salt  is  reached 
with  brine  containing  26.41  per  cent  salt,  salts  showing  a  brine 


1  Hunziker  and  Hosman.  Determination  of  Solubility  of  Buttersalts. 
Blue  Valley  Research  Laboratory,  1919. 

In  this  experiment  the  samples  of  the  three  buttersalts  were  taken  from 
the  interior  of  the  barrel,  after  removing  about  30  pounds  from  the  top. 
Three  hundred  and  seventy  grams  of  salt  were  added  to  1,000  c.c.  of  water 
which  was  being  violently  agitated  by  means  of  a  mechanical  stirrer.  It 
required  from  two  to  three  seconds  to  add  the  salt.  At  definite  intervals, 
after  adding  the  salt,  a  sample  was  removed  by  means  of  a  pipette,  the 
suction  end  of  which  was  covered  with  silk  cloth.  The  mesh  in  this  silk  was 
from  .05  mm.  to  .10  mm.  in  cross  section  and  there  were  from  140  to  160 
meshes  per  linear  inch.  All  samples  of  brine  were  filtered  through  a  double 
layer  of  this  finely  woven  silk.  Samples  were  removed  after  10,  30,  45,  60,  57, 
90,  105,  120,  180,  210  and  300  seconds,  respectively.  About  20  c.c.  of  brine  was 
taken  for  each  sample.  The  samples  were  kept  in  glass  stoppered  bottles  until 
weighed.  The  determination  of  salt  was  made  by  weighing  into  a  watch 
crystal  about  6  grams  of  the  brine  and  evaporating  at  135°  to  140°  C.  to 
constant  weight.  The  apparatus  and  speed  of  agitation  used  were  such  as 
to  preclude  the  possibility  of  any  settling  of  the  salt  while  the  samples  were 
taken.  The  amount,  nature  and  speed  of  the  agitation  were  uniform  in  each 
test. 


SALTING  THS  BUTTER  337 

concentration  beyond  this  point  suggest  the  presence  of  im- 
purities. 

These  conclusions  are  purely  arbitrary  and  relative.  As 
stated  elsewhere  in  this  volume,  the  fine  division  and  emulsion 
of  the  water  in  butter  greatly  diminishes  the  availability  of  a 
portion  of  it  to  the  salt.  It  is  not  mechanically  possible  to  com- 
pletely dissolve  a  sufficient  amount  of  salt  in  butter  to  reach 
the  saturation  point  of  all  the  water  present.  If  salt  is  added  to 
butter  at  the  ratio  of  26.41  parts  of  salt  for  every  100  parts 
of  water  present,  and  which  ratio  represents  the  maximum  con- 
centration possible  of  salt  brine,  all  of  this  salt  will  not  dissolve 
and  the  butter  is  bound  to  be  gritty. 

These  figures,  however,  do  show  the  relative  solubility  and 
the  speed  of  solution  of  different  buttersalts,  and  they  may  serve 
to  suggest  in  a  general  way  the  limitations  of  satisfactory  salt 
in  corporation. 

The  Condition  of  the  Salt  as  Affected  by  Storage.— It  has 

already  been  stated  under  the  paragraph  on  "Bacteriological 
Purity"  that  the  salt  should  be  kept  tightly  covered  in  order 
to  avoid  bacterial  contamination  which  may  prove  disastrous 
to  the  quality  of  the  butter. 

The  buttermaker  should  also  exercise  due  care  to  protect 
the  salt  against  a  damp  atmosphere,  because  of  the  great  affinity 
of  the  salt  for  moisture  from  the  air,  causing  it  to  become 
lumpy  and  musty. 

It  is  frequently  claimed  that,  when  the  salt  is  stored  in 
barrels  for  an  excessively  long  period  of  time;  the  salt  is  cap- 
able of  absorbing  a  woody  odor  and  flavor  from  the  barrel, 
which  may  be  imparted  to  the  butter.  It  is  doubtful  that  salt 
packed  in  sound  barrels,  kept  dry,  ever  absorbs  woody  flavor. 
Experts  on  butter  salt  testify  that  this  is  impossible.  How- 
ever, instances  are  on  record  where  salt  stored  in  barrels  made 
of  poorly  seasoned  wood,  or  wood  derived  from  trees  which 
were  felled  while  the  sap  was  still  running,  or  from  lumber 
which  was  allowed  to  soak  in  stagnant  ponds,  gave  butter  a 
pronounced  woody  and  moldy  odor.  The  storing  of  the  salt 
barrels  in  damp  places  where  the  barrel  becomes  wet  may  also 
be  responsible  for  this  defect. 


338  SAI/TING  THE  BUTTER 

If  stored  in  a  very  cold  place  and  not  given  a  chance  to 
warm  up  by  being  taken  into  the  creamery  long  enough  before 
use,  the  salt  chills  the  butter  with  which  it  comes  in  immediate 
contact  and  thereby  hinders  ready  solution  and  uniform  dis- 
tribution of  the  brine.  Where  the  storage  place  of  the  salt 
is  very  cold,  as  is  often  the  case  in  creameries  in  winter  where 
the  salt  is  stored  in  a  shed,  the  salt  needed  for  the  next  day 
should  be  brought  into  the  creamery  the  previous  day,  or  long 
enough  before  use,  to  allow  it  to  temper,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  undesirable  consequences  of  the  use  of  very  cold  salt. 

Effect  of  Salt  on  the  Keeping  Quality  of  Butter.— The  anti- 
septic properties  of  salt  are  generally  recognized.  Salt  has 
the  power  of  inhibiting  bacteriological  growth.  It  would  seem, 
therefore,  that  salted  butter  should  possess  greater  keeping 
quality  than  unsalted  butter  and  that  the  more  salt  butter  con- 
tains the  better  it  should  keep. 

Jensen1  reports  that  all  micro-organisms  grow  better  and 
faster  in  unsalted  butter  than  in  salted  butter.  The  growth 
of  the  water  bacteria  is  retarted  most  by  the  salt.  Klein2  says 
that  although  butter  is  primarily  salted  to  improve  its  flavor, 
its  keeping  quality  is  also  materially  improved.  Weigman3 
found  that  salt  has  a  conserving  action,  that  unsalted  butter 
generally  contains  more  microorganisms  than  salted  butter  and 
that  in  unsalted  butter  the  multiplication  of  bacteria  lasts  longer 
than  in  salted  butter.  His  experimental  results  show  that  in 
unsalted  butter  the  multiplication  lasted  106  days  as  against  62 
days  in  salted  butter.  McKay  and  Larsen's4  experiments  show 
that  salt  improves  the  keeping  quality  of  butter.  Rahn,  Brown 
and  Smith5  who  stored  salted  and  unsalted  butter  at  — 6°  C. 
and  -(-6°  C.  state  that  there  is  no  hope  of  keeping  unsalted 
butter  longer  than  salted  butter.  Fettig,6  in  experiments  in 
which  butter  was  stored  at  similar  temperatures  as  above,  con- 
cluded, that  salted  butter  keeps  better,  both  above  and  below 
the  freezing  point,  than  unsalted  butter. 

1  Jensen,  Die  Bakteriologie  der  Milchwirtschaft,  1913,  p.  124. 

2  Klein,   Milchwirtschaft,   1914,   p.   218. 
»Weigmann,  Mykologie  der  Milch,   1911,  p.   210. 

*  McKay  and  Larsen,  The  Keeping  Quality  of  Butter,  Iowa  Bulletin  71,  1903. 
6  Rahn,   Brown  and   Smith,   Keeping  Quality  of  Butter,  Michigan   Technical 

Bulletin    2,    1909. 

•  Fettig,  Centralblatt  fur  Bakt.  II.  Band  22,  No.   32,  1909. 


SAI/TING  THE  BUTTER  339 

While  the  results  above  quoted  all  point  toward  improved 
keeping  quality  of  salted  butter,  both  experimental  results  and 
the  experience  of  the  butter  manufacturer  have  demonstrated 
that  the  beneficial  influence  of  salt  on  the  keeping  quality  of 
butter,  depends  to  a  very  considerable  extent  on  a  variety  of 
factors  incident  to  the  making  and  storing  of  butter  and  the 
amount  of  salt,  butter  contains. 

Again,  all  micro-organisms  present  in  butter  do -not  take 
part  in  the  decomposition  of  the  ingredients  of  the  buttermilk 
and  therefore  do  not  affect  its  keeping  quality  and  some  spe- 
cies are  considered  capable  to  actually  prolong  the  life  of  but- 
ter. On  the  other  hand,  the  inhibiting  action  of  salt  varies 
greatly  with  different  micro-organisms  and  with  the  concen- 
tration of  the  brine  present.  In  slightly .  salted  butter,  i.  e., 
butter  containing  not  to  exceed  about  two  per  cent  salt,  the 
liquid  parts  of  the  butter  contain  only  about  thirteen  per  cent 
salt,  which  is  insufficient  to  retard  the  growth  of  most  micro- 
organisms. Weigmann  found  that  2.5  per  cent  salt  in  butter, 
or  about  sixteen  per  cent  in  the  brine  of  butter,  inhibits  the 
growth  of  some  species  of  germs  and  that  the  molds  are, affected 
by  this  salt  more  than  the  bacteria  and  yeast.  When,  however, 
the  salt  is  increased  to  4  and  5  per  cent,  or  approximately  21 
to  25  per  cent  in  the  brine,  the  keeping  quality  is  not  only  not 
improved,  but  it  suffers.  In  this  case  the  lactic  acid  bacteria 
which  improve  the  keeping  quality  are  affected  unfavorably, 
their  growth  is  inhibited,  while  other  bacteria  which  give  the 
butter  undesirable  flavors,  such  as  those  of  the  coli  and  aero- 
genes  groups,  Bacillus  subtilis,  Bacillus  putrificus  and  several 
molds,  are  more  resistant  to  salt.  These  results  are  corroborated 
by  experiments  by  Gray  and  McKay1  who  show  that  in  the  case 
of  butter  stored  at  temperatures  varying  from  — 10°  F.  to 
-j-32°  F.,  lightly  salted  butter  averaged  2.16  points  higher  in 
score  than  heavily  salted  butter.  These  investigators  therefore 
concluded  that  butter  containing  low  percentages  of  salt,  keeps 
better  than  butter  containing  a  high  per  cent  of  salt.  Fettig 
also  found  that  if  the  salt  concentration  is  so  high  as  to  stop 
the  activity  of  lactic  acid  bacteria,  some  of  the  more  resistant 


1  Gray  and  McKay,  Investigations  in  the  Manufacture  and  Storage  of  But- 
ter.    U.   S.   B.  A.  I.   Bulletin  84,  1906,  p.   17. 


340 


SALTING  THE  BUTTER 


organisms  have  a  chance  to  grow  and  to  decompose  butter.  He 
adds  that  the  coli  group  of  bacteria  thrives  in  butter  con- 
taining 6  per  cent  salt  and  B.  prodigiosus  thrives  in  butter  con- 
taining four  per  cent  salt.  Hunziker,  Mills  and  Spitzer  found 
that  unsalted  and  lightly  salted  butter  had  a  better  flavor  and 
kept  better  in  storage  at  — 6°  F.  than  heavily  salted  butter,  as 
shown  in  the  following  table. 

Table   52. — Showing  Scores  of  Butter  with  Varying  Amounts 
of  Salt  Before  and  After  Storage.1 


• 

d 

-1 

Is 

Scores  Before 
Storage 

• 
bo 

• 

Scores  After  Storage 

s 

** 

AH 

P 

E 

0> 

4 

Credi- 
cott 

Mittle- 
sted 

Credi- 
cott 

Keist 

Mittle- 
sted 

1 

none 

12 

93 

93 

93 

93^ 

93^ 

9$y2 

93^ 

2 

2.20 

12 

93 

93 

93 

93 

93 

94 

93^ 

3 

4.44 

12 

92 

92 

92 

91 

91 

91 

91 

4, 

6.66 

12 

88^ 

88^ 

88^ 

88  l/s 

88 

87 

87*4 

5 

7.17 

12 

87^ 

87^ 

87^ 

89' 

89 

88^ 

8814 

6 

none 

30 

94^' 

94^ 

94^ 

94 

94 

94 

94 

7 

2.92 

30 

91 

90^ 

9034 

91 

90^ 

90J4 

9oy3 

8 

6.13 

30 

89 

91 

90 

90 

90 

90^ 

90^4 

9 

7.81 

30 

89 

90^ 

8934 

88 

88 

87 

87% 

10 

8.57 

30 

89^ 

89^ 

85 

85 

84 

84% 

The  above  ten  lots  of  butter  were  made  from  the  same 
churning.  Lots  1  to  5  were  worked  12  revolutions,  lots  6  to 
10,  inclusive,  were  worked  30  revolutions. 

These  findings,  then,  give  evidence  of  the  fact  that  while 
a  small  amount  of  salt  may  and  does  retard  the  action  of  some  un- 
desirable microbes,  such  as  certain  molds  and  yeast,  and  at  the 
same  time  permit  the  activity  of  desirable  bacteria,  such  as  the 
lactic  acid  speries  and,  therefore,  has  a  tendency  to  improve  the 
keeping  quality  of  butter,  the  opposite  effect  may  be  expected 
with  heavily  salted  butter. 

But  the  effect  of  salt  on  the  keeping  quality  of  butter,  is 
also  governed  and  modified  to  a  very  appreciable  extent,  by  the 
temperature  at  which  butter  is  stored.  Bacteria,  in  order  to 
thrive  on  the  food  they  find  in  butter,  must  have  that  food  in 
liquid  form.  When  the  serum  of  butter,  containing  the  curd 

1  Hunziker,  Mills  and  Spitzer,  Moisture  Control  of  Butter.     Purdue  Bulletin 
160,  1912. 


SAI/TING  THE  BUTTER  341 

and  sugar,  is  frozen,  bacteria  cease  to  be  able  to  utilize  it  and 
their  activity  stops.  When  butter  is  stored  at  or  above  the 
freezing  point  of  water  the  liquid  portion  in  both  salted  and 
unsalted  butter  is  in  solution.  In  salted  butter  liquid  brine 
has  a  retarding  influence  on  some  of  them,  while  in  unsalted 
butter '  their  development  is  unhindered.  It  is  obvious  there- 
fore that  at  ordinary  temperatures  the  unsalted  butter  will 
spoil  more  readily  than  the  salted  butter,  a  fact  which  is  amply 
borne  out  in  the  commercial  manufacture  and  handling  of 
butter. 

But  not  so  when  butter  is  stored  at  the  cold  storage  tem- 
perature generally  used  in  this  country,  i.  e.  — 6  to  — 10°  F. 
At  such  low  temperatures  the  moisture  in  unsalted  butter  is 
frozen  solid,  a  fact  which  makes  further  bacterial  development 
impossible.  In  heavily  salted  butter  on  the  other  hand,  the 
freezing  point  of  the  brine  is  very  near  the  storage  tempera- 
ture. The  brine  therefore  remains  in  solution  for  a  relatively 
long  period  of  time  and  the  micro-organisms  which  are  capable 
to  resist  the  concentrated  brine  are  able  to  continue  their  work. 
That  the  brine  in  heavily  salted  butter  remains  in  solution 
for  some  time,  if  it  freezes  at  all  after  the  butter  has  been  placed 
in  cold  storage,  is  clearly  shown  in  the  paragraph  relating  to 
"The  Effect  of  Salt  on  the  Moisture  Content  of  Butter.'1 
Unsalted  and  lightly  salted  butter  lost  practically  no  moisture 
in  cold  storage,  while  heavily  salted  butter  lost  from  one  to 
three  and  one-half  per  cent  moisture.  Similar  results  are  re- 
ported by  Washburn.1  These  findings  are  in  no  way  contradic- 
tory to  those  obtained  by  the  investigators  previously  quoted 
who  reported  that  salted  butter  kept  better  than  unsalted  but- 
ter, because  of  the  differences  in  the  temperature  at  which 
their  butter  was  stored. 

The  earlier  impression  among  buttermakers  and  also 
quoted  in  some  of  the  text  books  was  that  salt  covers  up  the 
bad  flavors  in  butter,  and  it  used  to  be  recommended  that  but- 
ter of  inferior  quality  should  be  salted  heavily  in  order  to  hide 
the  undesirable  flavors.  Our  latest  findings  on  this  point  do 
not  bear  out  this  assumption.  On  the  contrary,  experience  has 

1  Washburn.   Influence  of  Salt  on  Storage  Butter,  Journal  of  Dairy  Science, 
Vol  1,  No.  2,  1917. 


342  SALTING  THE  BUTTER 

shown,  that  heavy  salting  rather  intensifies  than  minimizes  the 
effect  of  poor  quality.  Such  butter  usually  takes  on  a  disagree- 
able, coarse  flavor  particularly  objectionable  to  the  consumer. 
In  fact  the  bulk  of  evidence  goes  to  show  that  butter  made  from 
second  grade  cream  is  of  better  flavor  and  sells  to  better  advan- 
tage when  it  is  not  salted  at  all.  For  this  reason  many  of  the 
most  progressive  creameries,  whose  daily  make  is  sufficiently 
large  to  justify  them  to  churn  the  different  grades  of  cream 
separately,  put  their  second  grade  cream  into  unsalted  butter, 
for  which  they  can  realize  a  better  price  than  if  they  salted  it, 
and  frequently  their  second  grade  unsalted  butter  brings  as 
good  a  price  as  their  first  grade  salted  butter. 

Leaving  out  of  consideration  the  preference  of  the  con- 
suming public,  one  of  the  most  important  disadvantages  of  un- 
salted butter,  as  related  to  quality,  lies  in  the  fact  that  unsalted 
butter  molds  very  much  more  readily  than  salted  butter.  Mold 
development  usually  makes  its  appearance  within  less  than  two 
weeks  of  manufacture.  Since  this  is  the  period  before  the  but- 
ter reaches  cold  storage,  and  during  which  the  temperature  to 
which  the  butter  is  exposed,  is  generally  considerably  above 
32°  F.,  mold  growth  makes  rapid  progress.  In  the  absence  of 
salt  there  is  nothing  to  inhibit  it,  and  if  the  unsalted  butter 
happens  to  be  made  from  cream  that  is  high  in  acid  when 
churned,  the  moldiness  is  further  intensified.  Molds  flourish 
in  an  acid  medium.  Salt  brine,  on  the  other  hand,  retards  mold 
growth.  Salted  butter,  therefore,  is  not  so  prone  to  arrive  on 
the  market  in  moldy  condition. 

Effect  of  Salt  on  Possible  Germs  of  Disease  That  May  be 
Found  in  Butter. — This  applies  only  to  butter  made  from  raw 
cream,  as  it  is  generally  conceded  that  proper  pasteurization 
of  the  cream  eliminates  the  germs  of  infectious  diseases  from 
butter.  Data  on  the  effect  of  salt  on  the  virulence  of  patho- 
genic bacteria,  are  not  numerous  and  such  data  as  are  available 
are  confined  to  the  bacillus  of  tuberculosis.  Schroeder  and 
Cotton,1  as  the  result  of  experiments  with  infected  butter, 
conclude  that  living  bacilli  of  tuberculosis  will  retain  their 
infectious  properties  for  at  least  160  days  in  salted  butter  when 


1  Schroeder  and  Cotton,   The  Relation  of  the  Tubercle  Bacillus  to  Public 
Health,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  B.  A.  I.  Circular  153,  p.  38. 


SALTING  THE:  BUTTKR  343 

kept  without  ice  in  cellar.  Mohler,  Washburn  and  Doane1  re- 
port as  follows:  "No  dependence  should  be  placed  upon  the 
action  of  the  salt  that  is  added  to  butter  as  an  agent  in  the 
destruction  of  Bacillus  tuberculosis.  It  has  been  shown  that 
the  effect  of  salt  as  commonly  used  in  the  manufacture  of  but- 
ter, is  very  slight  at  best.  Most  of  the  samples  used  were  salted 
with  the  usual  amount.  Yet  the  butter  contained  its  virulence 
for  6  months." 

These  facts  emphasize  that  the  heavy  salting  of  butter,  as 
usually  practiced  on  the  dairy  farm  where  butter  is  made,  is 
not  an  adequate  substitute  for  pasteurization  and  that  pasteur- 
ization is  indispensible  as  a  guarantee  of  freedom  from  disease 
germs. 

Effect  of  Salt  on  Moisture  Content  of  Butter. — Before  the 
salt  is  added  to  butter,  butter  represents  an  emulsion  of  water- 
in-fat,  in  which  the  water  is  present  in  very  small  drop- 
lets, of  relatively  uniform  size  and  even  distribution. 

The  addition  of  salt  causes  this  emulsion  to  be  disturbed. 
The  salt,  owing  to  its  great  affinity  for  water,  draws  many 
of  the  water  droplets  together  into  larger  droplets  and  drops 
and  even  larger  aggregates.  There  is  a  marked  decrease  in 
the  number  of  small  droplets  and  an  increase  in  the  number 
'of  large  droplets.  And  there  is  an  unmistakable  tendency  for 
water  to  run  out  of  the  butter,  causing  a  decrease  in  the  per- 
centage of  moisture. 

In  butter  made  from  cream  that  was  not  sufficiently  cooled, 
nor  held  at  the  low  temperature  long  enough  to  thoroughly 
chill  and  harden  the  fat  before  churning,  the  salting  invariably 
produces  a  leaky  body.  In  this  case  the  mechanical-condition 
of  the  fat  is  such  that  the  formation  of  the  water-in-fat  emul- 
sion, resulting  during  the  churning  process,  is  incomplete.  While 
it  is  sufficiently  complete  to  prevent  unsalted  butter  from  being 
leaky  (unsalted  butter  never  is  really  leaky)  it  is  not  suffi- 
ciently complete  to  withstand  the  emulsion-disturbing  influ- 
ence of  the  salt.  It  yields  to  the  salting-out  process  and  be- 
comes leaky. 

At  best  the  salt  tends  to  decrease  the  moisture  content  of 


1  Mohler,  Washburn  and  Doane.     Virility  of  Bacillus  Tuberculosis,  U.   S. 
A.   I.   26,  Annual  Report,   1909. 


344 


SALTING  THE  BUTTER 


butter  to  some  extent,  and  in  the  case  of  butter  made  from 
insufficiently  chilled  cream  this  decrease  may  be  very  great. 
This  does  not  necessarily  mean,  however,  that  the  finished  prod- 
uct is  lower  in  moisture  in  the  case  of  salted  butter  than  in 
the  case  of  unsalted  butter.  The  expulsion  of  moisture  by  the 
salt  occurs  during  the  first  few  revolutions  of  the  workers.  As 
the  working  continues,  especially  with  the  churn  doors  closed, 
brine  is  reincorporated  and  the  moisture  content  again  in- 
creases. Salted  butter,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  working  process 
may,  therefore,  contain  as  much  water  as  unsalted  butter,  the 
salt  replacing  a  corresponding  portion  of  the  fat  and  not  of  the 
water,  causing  salted  butter  to  be  lower  in  butterfat  than  un- 
salted butter.  This  fact  is  demonstrated  in  the  following 
table:1 

Table  53. — Showing  Effect  of  Amount  of  Salt  on  Moisture  and 

Fat  Content  of  Butter  When  the  Butter  is  Worked  With  the 

Churn  Gates  Closed. 


Lot 
No. 

Ounces 
of  Salt 
per  Lb. 
Fat 

Revolu- 
tions 
Worked 

Chemical  Composition  of  Butter  in  Per  Cent 

Salt 

Fat 

Moisture 

Curd 

Ash 

April,  1907  (before  storage)  worked  12  revolutions 


1 

none 

12 

.02 

84.58 

14.05 

.63 

.20    ' 

2 

2A 

12 

2.20 

83.00 

14.07 

.60 

.19 

3 

WA 

12 

4.44 

81.22 

14.00 

.t50 

.19 

4 

2K 

12 

6.66 

77.70 

14.78 

.61 

.18 

5 

W 

12 

7.17 

77.31 

14.75 

.60 

.20 

Average 

4.10 

80.76 

14.33 

.61 

.19 

When  butter  is  placed  i  ncold  storage  the  loss  of  moisture 
in  salted  butter  is  very  much  greater  than  that  in  unsalted  but- 
ter, as  shown  in  experimental  data1  in  Table  54. 

As  shown  in  Table  54,  the  loss  of  moisture  of  but- 
ter in  cold  storage  is  greatest  in  heavily  salted  butter,  while 
it  is  very  slight  in  lightly  salted  butter.  While  unsalted  but- 
ter lost  no  moisture  in  eight  months  storage  at  — 6°  F.,  lightly 
salted  butter  lost  .42  per  cent  and  heavily  salted  butter  as 
high  as  3.08  per  cent.  Similar  results  were  obtained  in  exper- 


1  Hunziker,   Mills  and   Spitzer.   Moisture  Control   of  Butter,   Purdue  Bulletin 
160,  1912,   p.  399. 


SAI/UNG  THE  BUTTER 


345 


iments  conducted  by  Rahn,   Brown  and  Smith.1     This  loss  of 
moisture    in    storage    was    formerly    attributed    to    evaporation, 
and  such  is  in  fact  the  case  to  a    limited    extent    with    butter, 
stored   at  ordinary  temperature.     In   commercial  cold  storage, 
however,  moisture  does  not  evaporate  to  any  noticeable  extent. 

Table  54. — Showing  Loss  of  Moisture  in  Butter  in  Cold  Storage. 


Per  Cent  Salt 

Per  Cent  Moisture 

Fresh 

Stored  8  Months 
at  -6°   F. 

Decrease 

of   Per   Cent   Salt 

none 
2.20 
4.48 
6.66 
7.17 

14.05 
14.07 
14.00 
14.78 
14.75 

14.20 
13.65 
13.01 
11.70 
11.83 

'.42 
.99 
3.08 
2.92 

If  here  the  loss  of  moisture  were  due  to  evaporation,  this  de- 
crease of  moisture  would  necessarily  have  to  be  accompanied 
by  a  material  increase  in  the  per  cent  of  salt.  This  is  not  the 
case,  as  shown  in  the  results  of  Hunziker,  Mills  and  Spitzer  in 
table  55. 

The  loss  of  moisture  in  butter  in  storage  is  apparently 
due  to  leakage,  caused  partly  by  the  precipitation  and  contrac- 
tion of  the  casein,  rendering  the  buttermilk  less  viscous  and 
giving  the  butter  a  more  open  texture,  and  partly  to  the  fact 
that  in  heavily  salted  butter  the  brine  is  so  concentrated  that  its 
freezing  point  is  near  that  of  the  cold  storage  temperature. 
This  leaves  the  moisture  in  butter  in  liquid  form  during  a  con- 
siderable part  of  its  storage  period  and  gives  it  an  opportunity 
to  leak  out.  In  the  case  of  unsalted  and  lightly  salted  butter 
the  moisture  freezes  at  the  usual  cold  storage  temperature,  pre- 
venting further  leakage.  In  butter  stored  at  ordinary  temperatures 
and  not  far  below  the  freezing  point  of  water,  the  leakage  of 
moisture  in  both  salted  and  unsalted  butter  would  be  more  nearly 
the  same. 


1Rahn,  Brown  and  Smith,  Keeping  Qualities  of  Butter,  Michigan  Technical 
Bulletin  2,  1909. 


346 


WORKING  THE  BUTTER 


Table  55.— Salt  Content  in  Fresh  and  Stored  Butter,1 


Lot 
No. 

Ounces  of 
Salt  Added 
per  Pound 
of  Fat 

Fresh    Butter 

After  8  Months 
Cold    Storage 

Per    Cent 
Moisture 

Per  Cent 
Salt 

Per    Cent 
Moisture 

Per  Cent 
Salt 

1 
2 
3 

4 
5 

none 

2/3 

iy2 

V/4 

3K 

14.05 
14.07 
14.00 
14.78 
14.75 

.02 

2.20 
4.44 
6.66 
7.17 

14.20 
13.65 
13.01 
11.70 
11.83 

.02 
2.01 
4.48 

5.57 
7:07 

Average  per  cent    salt.. 

4.10 

3.83 

WORKING  THE  BUTTER 

Purpose. — The  fundamental  purpose  of  working-  the  butter 
is  to  completely  dissolve,  uniformly  distribute  and  properly  in- 
corporate the  salt,  to  accomplish  as  complete  as  possible  a 
fusion  between  brine  and  water  in  butter,  and  to  bring  the 
granules  of  butter  together  into  a  compact  mass  for  convenient 
handling  and  packing.  Incidentally  the  working  process  fur- 
ther serves  to  expel  buttermilk  and  to  control  the  moisture 
content  of  butter.  The  working  is  an  important  -part  of  butter 
manufacture,  it  is  a  science  which  requires  knowledge,  and  it 
is  above  all  an  art  that  demands  experience  and  judgment  on 
the  part  of  the  operator,  if  uniformly  satisfactory  results  are 
to  be  obtained. 

Butter  Workers. — There  is  a  great  variety  of  butter 
workers  on  the  market,  in  principle  they  are  conveniently  di- 
vided into  two  classes,  namely  those  which  are  independent 
of  the  churn,  and  in  the  use  of  which  the  butter  is  taken  out  of 
the  churn,  and  those  which  are  a  part  of  the  churn,  known  as 
the  combined  churns  and  workers. 

To  the  first  group  belong  all  the  handworkers  such  as  are 
generally  used  in  farm  buttermaking  and  the  mechanical  table 
workers  which  were  formerly  used  in  American  creameries  and 
are  still  used  to  a  considerable  extent  in  European  creameries. 
These  independent  butter  workers  consist  of  a  bowl,  tray  or 
table  on  which  the  butter  is  placed  and  where  it  is  worked 
with  ladles,  or  with  a  lever,  or  by  one  or  more  revolving  cor- 


1  Hunziker.   Mills  and  Spitzer,   Moisture  Control  of  Butter.   Purdue  Bulletin 
160,  1912. 


WORKING  THE  BUTTER  347 

rugated  rollers.  In  the  case  of  the  large  table  workers,  both 
the  table  and  rollers  revolve.  When  only  small  quantities  of 
butter  are  handled,  these  workers  may  serve  the  purpose  fairly 
well,  but  at  best  they  are  a  very  crude  apparatus,  their  opera- 
tion requires  much  labor,  is  time  consuming,  lacks  uniformity 
of  results  as  to  distribution  of  salt  and  moisture,  makes  the 
control  of  temperature  of  the  butter  impossible,  renders  the 
protection  of  the  butter  from  flies  in  summer  and  diverse  im- 
purities difficult,  and  exposes  the  butter  excessively  to  light. 
Even  for  the  farm  dairy  the  combined  churn  and  worker  is 
greatly  preferable  and  such  workers  are  now  available,  adapted 
for  use  in  dairies  with  a  small  make. 


Pig*.  55.    Hand  butter  worker 
Courtesy  Creamery  Package  Mfg.  Co. 

For  creamery  use,  the  independent  worker  is  practically 
out  of  the  question  and  the  combined  churn  and  worker  is  the 
only  really  satisfactory  equipment.  The  combined  churn  and 
workers  are  of  two  types.  In  one  type  the  butterworkers,  con- 
sisting of  one,  two  or  four  rollers,  according  to  the  make  of 
the  churn,  are  permanently  installed  in  the  churn,  running 
lengthwise,  either  near  the  periphery  of  the  churn  barrel  or 
through  the  center  of  the  churn.  The  workers  revolve  on  steel 
shafts  with  bearings  in  each  end  of  the  churn,  and  with  the 
gear  attachment  at  one  end  on  the  outside  of  the  churn.  To 
this  type  of  combined  churns  and  workers  belong  the  Disbrow, 
Dual,  Perfection,  Victor,  Wizard,  etc.  In  the  other  type  of  com- 
bined churns  and  workers  one  end  of  the  churn  is  open  and 
the  butter  workers  are  on  a  separate  truck  outside  of  the  churn. 
When  ready  for  working,  the  truck  is  moved  up  to  the  open 
end  of  the  churn,  the  workers  are  pushed  into  the  churn,  and 
the  driving  gear  located  outside  of  the  churn  is  slipped  in  place. 
The  Simplex  churn  is  a  representative  of  this  type  of  churn, 


348  WORKING  THS  BUTTER 

On  the  interior  of  the  combined  churns  and  workers  one 
or  more  shelves  are  fastened  to  the  sides  of  the  churn;  as  the 
churn  revolves  these  shelves  carry  the  butter  and  some  of  the 
water  up  and  drop  them  over  the  workers. 

In  churns  containing  one  worker  only,  as  is  the  case  with 
the  Perfection  churn,  the  roller  works  against  a  shelf,  the 
butter  being  worked  while  passing  between  the  roller  and  shelf. 


Pig-.  56.     One-roll  workers  perfection       fig.  57.     Two-roll  workers'  Disbrow 

chum  churn 

Courtesy  J.  G.  Cherry  Co.  Courtesy    Davis- Watkins   Dairymen's 

Mfg.  Co. 

In  churns  containing  one  or  more  sets  of  two  rollers  each, 
roller  works  against  roller,  the  butter  being  worked  while  pass- 
ing between  the  rollers.  To  churns  of  this  arrangement  belong 
the  Disbrow,  Dual,  Simplex,  Victor  (4  rollers)  and  Wizard. 
The  Dual  churn  is  equipped  with  an  idler,  a  small,  loose  roller 
on  each  side  of  the  main  workers.  These  idler  rollers  assist 
in  guiding  the  butter  towards  the  workers  and  prevent  it  from 
dropping  down  outside  of  the  workers.  In  some  churns  (Dis- 
brow and  Victor)  the  workers  travel  with  the  drum  of  the  churn, 
while  in  other  churns  (Dual,  Perfection,  Simplex  and  Wizard) 
the  worker  or  workers  are  stationary  and  revolve  only  on  their 
own  axis.  In  all  churns  excepting  the  Wizard,  the  churn  revolves 
while  the  workers  are  rotating.  In  the  Wizard  the  churn  makes 
one  turn,  dropping  the  butter  on  the  workers,  then  it  auto- 
matically stops  and  the  workers  start  rotating.  When  the  but- 
ter has  gone  through  the  workers,  the  churn  again  revolves  and 
the  operation  is  repeated. 


WORKING  THE  BUTTER  349 

In  order  for  the  churn  workers  and  shelves  to  perform 
their  work  properly,  to  work  all  the  butter  alike,  to  distribute 
the  moisture  and  salt  evenly  and  produce  uniformity  of  color 
in  the  butter,  they  must  be  correctly  set,  must  be  taut  and  free 
from  excessive  slack.  The  distance  between  workers  and  be- 
tween worker  and  shelf  must  be  the  same  over  their  entire 


Fig1.   58.     Two-roll  workers   with  Fig*.   59.     Four-roll  workers  Victor 

idlers,  Dual  churn  churn 

Courtesy  Creamery  Package  Mfg.  Co.       Courtesy  Creamery  Package  Mfg.  Co. 

length,  the  workers  must  be  so  set  that,  when  in  operation, 
the  ridges  of  one  worker  meet  the  grooves  of  the  opposite 
worker,  and  there  must  be  sufficient  freedom  from  slack  or 
looseness  to  insure  permanency  of  this  correct  position  of  the 
workers  while  in  operation.  Improperly  set,  maladjusted,  loose 
and  slipping  workers  cause  uneven  working  and  this  in  turn 
almost  invariably  causes  mottles. 

Looseness  or  slipping  of  the  workers  is  always  due  to  a 
faulty  mechanical  condition  of  the  churn.  It  is  caused  either 
by  the  rollershaft  having  worked  loose  in  the  end  of  the 
worker,  or  by  the  rollershaft  slipping  in  the  gear  wheel  due 
to  a  worn  key,  or  to  an  excessively  worn  condition  of  the  cogs 
in  the  gear  wheels.  It  is  a  part  of  the  buttermaker's  duty  to 
see  to  it  that  the  churn  and  workers  are  constantly  kept  in 
proper  mechanical  repair. 

Overloading  the  Churn. — The  author's  observation  among 
creameries  has  been  that  it  is  one  of  the  common  tendencies 
of  the  buttermaker  to  overload  the  churn.  Similar  experience 
is  related  by  Professor  F.  W.  Bouska,1  butter  expert  for  the 
American  Association  of  Creamery  Butter  Manufacturers.  The 

1  Eouska,   Elgin  Dairy  Report,   1914, 


350  WORKING  THE  BUTTER 

amount  of  butter  which  any  given  churn  will  properly  work, 
is  dependent  on  a  variety  of  factors: 

Churns  in  which  the  butter  is  brought  up  on  the  workers 
in  several  installments  (Simplex)  with  each  revolution  of  the 
churn,  can  take  care  of  more  butter,  without  overloading  the 
workers,  than  churns  in  which  the  butter  is  deposited  on  the 
workers  in  one  mass.  Workers  that  are  deeply  corrugated  and 
are  placed  a  considerable  distance  apart,  will  work  more  butter 
than  workers  with  shallow  corrugations  and  which  are  set 
close  together.  In  the  case  of  too  great  a  space  between 
workers,  however,  it  is  difficult  to  work  small  churnings  satis- 
factorily. High-speed  workers  will  handle  more  butter  than 
low-speed  workers.  Too  low  a  speed  of  the  workers  makes 
moisture  control  difficult  and  tends  toward  leaky  butter.  In  the 
case  of  hard  butter,  a  slow  speed  causes  excessive  expulsion  of 
water.  Excessive  speed  of  the  workers  causes  rapid  incorpora- 
tion of  moisture  and  makes  expulsion  of  water  more  difficult. 
Wide  workers  can  take  care  of  more  butter  than  narrow  workers, 
in  the  latter  case  the  butter  is  prone  to  fall  over  the  workers  and 
to  miss  being  worked.  Soft  butter  increases,  while  hard  butter 
decreases,  the  capacity  of  the  workers. 

Overloading  the  churn  often  causes  the  butter  to  be 
crowded  toward  the  ends  of  the  churn.  More  butter  being 
loaded  on  the  workers  than  they  are  able  to  work  through, 
causes  the  butter  to  pile  up ;  it  presses  against  the  ends  of  the 
churn.  The  uneven  surface  of  the  ends,  magnified  by  the 
projecting  bolt  heads  and  the  sunk-in  spy  glasses,  makes  part 
of  the  butter  stick  to  the  ends  and  to  be  carried  around  by 
the  revolving  drum  without  going  through  the  workers,  all 
the  butter  does  not  get  the  same  amount  of  working,  there  is 
uneveness  of  moisture,  salt  and  brine  distribution,  and  the 
butter  usually  becomes  mottled. 

In  order  to  avoid  the  objectionable  consequences  of  this  con- 
dition, the  buttermaker  may  stop  the  churn  and  turn  the  but- 
ter which  piled  up  at  the  ends  toward  the  center.  This  prac- 
tice minimizes  the  resulting  defects,  but  it  is  laborious,  time- 
consuming  and  fails  to  remove  the  cause  of  the  trouble. 

The  tendency  of  the  butter  to  crowd  toward  the  ends  of 


WORKING  THE  BUTTER  351 

the  churn  is  not  always  due  to  there  being  more  butter  in  the 
churn  than  its  rated  capacity  under  normal  conditions  can 
properly  take  care  of.  Frequently  it  is  caused  by  the  fact  that, 
when  renewing  the  workers,  a  larger  diameter  worker  is  fur- 
nished and  installed.  Since  the  distance  between  the  centers 
of  the  worker  shafts  remains  the  same,  regardless  of  size  of 
worker,  the  installation  of  the  larger  diameter  workers  leaves 
less  space  between  workers,  so  that  the  butter  of  a  churning 
of  normal  size  cannot  all  go  through  the  workers  and  the  effect 
is  obviously  the  same  as  if  the  churn  with  workers  of  proper 
size  had  been  overloaded.  When  replacing  old  churn  rollers 
by  new  ones,  great  care  should,  therefore,  be  taken  that  the 
new  workers  are  of  the  proper  size. 

Of  late  years  manufacturers  of  churns  that  contain  more 
than  one  worker,  have  endeavored  to  overcome  the  tendency 
of  the  butter  to  crowd  toward  the  ends,  by  installing  at  the 
top  and  bottom  in  the  center  of  the  churn,  a  so-called  "center- 
board."  The  centerboard  is  a  heavy  cypress  board,  about  24 
to  36  inches  long,  running  lengthwise,  with  one  edge  lying 
against  the  churn  drum  and  the  other  edge  pointing  radially 
toward  the  center.  This  board  is  braced  on  its  sides  by  heavy 
wooden  braces. 

The  evident  purpose  of  these  centerboards  is  to  give  the 
butter  more  contact  and  therefore  more  stability  to  stay  in  the 
center  (between  churn  ends)  and  thereby  offset  the  adhesion 
at  the  ends  which  otherwise  pulls  the  butter  away  from  the 
center.  The  center  board  also  helps  to  hold  the  butter  over 
the  workers  and  to  prevent  it  from  dropping  over  the  outside 
of  the  workers  without,  being  worked.  Practical  experience 
shows  that  the  centerboards  do  effectively  help  to  prevent  the 
crowding  of  the  butter  toward  the  ends.  But,  if  the  churn  is 
really  overloaded,  so  that  the  butter  cannot  all  pass  through 
the  workers,  a  portion  of  it  is  bound  to  escape  the  workers  and 
if  it  cannot  crowd  toward  the  ends  it  must  inevitably  fall  off 
the  workers  over  their  whole  length. 

One  of  the  most  fundamental  causes  of  the  tendency  in 
American  creameries  to  overload  the  workers,  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  listed  working  capacity  of  the  majority  of  combined 
churns  and  workers  on  the  market  and  in  use  is  greatly  over- 


352  WORKING  THE  BUTTER 

rated.  The  working  capacity  of  these  churns  is  far  'below  their 
churning  capacity.  The  reason  for  this  absence  of  proper  pro- 
portion between  churning  and  working  capacity  is  obvious. 
Most  of  these  churns  were  designed  some  twenty  to  thirty  years 
ago  and  the  design,  from  the  standpoint  of  working  capacity,  is 
the  same  now  as  it  was  then.  But  in  those  early  and  formative 
days  of  the  creamery  industry  the  creameries  received  and 
churned  a  much  thinner  cream  than  they  do  now.  Twenty  or 
more  years  ago  the  cream  separated  on  the  farm  averaged  around 
20  to  25  per  cent  fat.  During  the  last  score  of  years  the  cream- 
eries, the  dairy  schools  and  the  dairy  press,  all  have  pointed  out 
to  the  farmer  the  advantages  of  separating  a  richer  cream  and 
urged  him  relentlessly  to  produce  and  ship  cream  with  a  high 
per  cent  of  fat.  This  campaign  for  richer  cream,  together  with 
the  abandonment  of  gravity  creaming  and  the  universal  adop- 
tion of  the  farm  cream  separator,  had  their  desired  effect.  Today 
many  creameries  receive  cream  testing  as  high  as  50  per  cent 
fat  and  the  average  cream  when  churned  probably  contains  not 
less  than  33  per  cent  fat. 

It  is  obvious  that  combined  churns  and  workers,  designed 
for  a  working  capacity  of  20  to  25  per  cent  cream,  have  their 
workers  overloaded  when  operated  to  the  limit  of  their  rated 
churning  capacity,  with  cream  that  tests  33  per  cent  fat. 

The  overloading  of  the  workers,  whatever  its  cause  may 
be,  is  bound  to  result  in  incomplete  and  uneven  working,  lack 
of  uniformity  of  salt  and  moisture,  inadequate  fusion  of  brine 
and  water  and  consequent  streakiness  and  mottles. 

Manner  and  Amount  of  Working. — After  the  wash  water  is 
drained  from  the  churn,  the  churn  is  given  one  revolution  to 
bring  the  butter  on  top,  in  front  of  the  churn  doors.  A  deep 
trench  is  then  dug  in  the  butter,  running  the  entire  length  of 
the  churn.  The  salt  is  placed  into  this  trench,  care  being  taken 
that  the  salt  is  distributed  uniformly  in  all  parts  of  the  trench, 
otherwise  there  is  prone  to  be  a  variation  in  color  in  butter 
from  different  parts  of  the  churn.  After  salting,  the  trench  is 
closed  and  the  worker  started.  Some  butter  makers  prefer  to 
work  the  butter  a  few  revolutions  (3  to  6)  before  salting,  either 
in  the  presence  or  absence  of  extraneous  water,  claiming  that 


WORKING  THTC  BUTTER  353 

they  can  more  readily  control  the  moisture.  Each  individual 
butter  maker  has  his  own  method  which  he  believes  to  operate 
most  satisfactorily.  The  amount  of  draining  which  the  butter 
receives  before  salting,  the  method  of  salting  and  the  draining 
incident  to  the  working  process,  largely  regulate  the  per  cent 
of  moisture  which  the  finished  product  of  one  and  the  same 
churning  will  contain.  The  extent  of  draining  and  working  that 
will  yield  the  desired  result  as  to  per  cent  of  moisture  and  body 
of  butter,  must  be  governed  by  type  of  churn  and  by  the  me- 
chanical character  of  the  butter  in  the  churn. 

Inasmuch  as  the  mechanical  character  of  the  butter  must 
determine  how  much  working  any  given  churning  in  any  given 
churn  requires  and  can  stand,  and  since  the  mechanical  character 
of  the  butter  varies  with  many  conditions,  (such  as  locality, 
season  of  year,  richness,  acidity  and  temperature  of  cream,  size 
of  butter  granules,  fullness  of  churn,  etc.)  it  is  impossible  to 
prescribe  any  set  method  that  would  prove  satisfactory  under 
all  conditions. 

The  working  should  be  continued  until  the  butter  has  a  com- 
pact, tough  and  waxy  body,  consistent  with  the  desired  moisture 
content.  Butter  has  been  worked  enough  when  it  breaks  with  a 
ragged  edge  upon  passing  a  laddie  through  it  quickly.  Butter 
not  worked  sufficiently  usually  has  a  loose  body,  with  the  grain 
not  packed  together  properly.  Such  butter  is  often  leaky  and 
lacks  compactness.  Butter  overworked  shows  a  tallowy  or  salvy 
texture  in  the  case  of  very  firm  butter  and  a  greasy  texture  in 
the  case  of  very  soft  butter.  See  also  "Moisture  Control." 

Effect  of  Working  on  Body  and  Color  of  Butter.-^Properly 
worked  butter*  has  a  tough,  waxy  body,  is  free  from  leakiness, 
greasiness  and  tallowiness  and  has  a  live,  bright  color,  which  is 
uniform  throughout  the  package.  When  a  plug  of  such  butter 
is  pulled  out  of  the  tub  and  is  broken,  the  break  presents  an 
uneven  surface  similar  to  that  of  a  piece  of  iron,  showing  that 
the  grain  is  still  intact. 

Working  has  the  effect  of  whitening  the  color  of  the  salted 
butter.  This  is  due  to  the  reduction  of  the  size  of  the  water 
droplets  in  butter  during  progressive  working.  In  unsalted  but- 
ter the  water  droplets  are  present  in  the  form  of  innumerable 


354 


WORKING  THE  BUTTER 


Size  of  Water   Droplets  in  Unsalted  Butter  During  Working 

Process 

Magnified  740  times 


Fig1.  60.     Worked  six  revolutions, 
no  mottles 


Fig1.  61. 


Worked  12  revolutions, 

no  mottles 


Fig-.   63.     Worked   26  revolutions 


Worked   66   revolutions, 
no  mottles 


WORKING  THE  BUTTER 


355 


Size  of  Water  Droplets  in  Salted  Butter  During  Working  Process 

Magnified  740  times 


Tig.  66. 


Worked  six  revolutions, 

mottled 


Pig".  67. 


Worked  12  revolutions, 
mottled 


worked   18  revolutions, 

mottled 


Tig.  69.     Worked  26  revolutions, 
slightly  mottled 


Pig- 


Worked  34  revolutions, 
no  mottles 


PifiT.  71. 


Worked   66  revolutions, 
no  mottles 


356  WORKING  THS  BUTTER 

and  exceedingly  small  units  which  give  the  butter  an  opaque 
whitish  color.  These  droplets  remain  in  this  condition  during 
the  process  of  working.  Working  therefore  has  no  noticeable 
effect  on  the  color  of  unsalted  butter. 

But  not  so  in  the  case  of  salted  butter.  .  When  butter  is 
salted  many  of  these  small  water  droplets  run  together,  forming 
fewer  but  larger  units  or  drops.  This  causes  the  opaque  whitish 
appearance  to  vanish  and  to  be  replaced  by  a  clear,  more  trans- 
lucent and  more  deeply  yellow  color,  approaching  more  nearly 
the  natural  color  of  pure  butterfat.  As  the  working  process 
proceeds  these  large  droplets  are  gradually  divided  again  into 
smaller  droplets  and  as  this  division  and  increase  of  number  of 
small  water  droplets  progresses,  the  color  of  the  butter  begins  to 
lose  some  of  its  clear,  translucent,  bright  yellowness.  By  continu- 
ing the  working  process  to  the  point  where  the  water  droplets  are 
reduced  to  their  original  very  small  size  which  they  presented 
before  salting,  the  color  of  the  butter  can  be  returned  to  the 
opaque  whiteness  of  the  unsalted  butter.  This  can  only  be 
done,  however,  by  greatly  overworking  the  butter. 

The  above  phenomenon  also  explains  why  different  portions 
of  butter  from  one  and  the  same  churning  show  different  shades 
of  yellow,  when  all  the  butter  in  the  churn  does  not  receive  an 
equal  amount  of  working,  as  may  be  the  case  when  the  workers 
slip  or  are  overloaded. 

Insufficiently  worked  butter  has  a  loose,  open  and  often  a 
leaky  body.  A  plug  of  such  butter  drawn  from  the  tub  or  cube 
usually  shows  lack  of  compactness  and  sometimes  marked 
crumbliness.  In  the  case  of  salted  butter,  such  butter  is  often 
gritty,  due  to  the  presence  of  undissolved  salt  and  it  usually  is 
streaked  or  mottled  in  color,  due  to  the  incomplete  fusion  of 
brine  and  water  and  the  consequent  uneven  size  and  distribution 
of  the  water  and  brine  droplets.  While  still  in  the  churn,  such 
butter  generally  has  a  loose  body,  being  profusely  perforated  with 
water  pockets  which  are  plainly  visible  when  the  butter  is  cut 
with  the  ladle.  Unsalted  butter,  while  it  may  be  crumbly  and 
may  lack  the  plasticity  of  properly  worked  butter,  is  compact 
and  free  from  excessive  leakiness,  even  when  very  insufficiently 
worked,  and  such  butter  does  not  become  streaky  nor  mottled 


WORKING  THE  BUTTER  357 

in  color,  because  the  water  droplets  which  it  contains  are  very 
minute  and  there  is  a  permanent  absence  of  large  droplets. 

Overworked  butter  usually  has  a  poor  body  and  defective 
grain,  severely  criticized  on  the  market.  Overworking  injures 
the  grain  of  the  butter.  If  butter  is  overworked  while  soft,  the 
body  is  prone  to  be  greasy ;  if  overworked  when  hard  it  tends 
to  be  salvy  in  texture.  A  plug  of  such  butter  pulled  from  the 
tub  breaks  with  a  smooth  surface,  similar  as  if  it  were  cut  with 
a  knife  and  showing  that  the  grain  has  lost  its  identity.  Over- 
worked butter  also  has  a  dull,  lifeless  color,  similar  to  oleomar- 
garine and  which  is  not  attractive  to  the  buyer.  Such  butter 
seldom  stands  up  \vell  on  the  market  under  unfavorable  tem- 
perature conditions  and  its  flavor  and  keeping  quality  may  be 
impaired.  Frequently  butter  of  this  description  contains  exces- 
sive moisture.  Butter  with  a  firm  body  will  stand  much  more 
working  without  injury  to  its  body  than  butter  that  is  soft. 

Effect  of  Working  on  Moisture  Control  of  Butter  under 
diverse  Conditions. — The  working  is  an  important  part  of  the 
process  of  buttermaking  as  a  means  to  regulate  the  moisture 
content  of  butter.  In  fact,  the  expulsion  or  retainance  of  mois- 
ture largely  depends  on  the  method  employed  for  working. 

The  smaller  the  granules  when  the  churn  is  stopped,  the 
larger  the  amount  of  moisture  they  hold.  Churning  butter  to 
large  granules  or  lumps  tends  to  expel  moisture,  unless  such 
overchurning  is  due  to  very  soft  butter,  in  which  case  the  butter 
may  hold  abnormally  much  moisture.  If  the  churning  process 
is  stopped  at  the  proper  time,  that  is  when  the  butter  has  gath- 
ered in  the  form  of  granules  of  the  size  of  small  corn  kernels, 
butter  contains  more  than  sixteen  per  cent  moisture  immedi- 
ately after  the  buttermilk  has  been  drawn  off,  and  immediately 
after  washing  it  still  contains  an  excess  of  moisture.  The  sub- 
sequent salting  and  working  removes  this  excess  moisture.  If 
the  butter  granules  are  round,  smooth  and  firm  as  is  usually  the 
case  in  fall,  winter  and  early  spring,  and  especially  in  the  case 
of  thin  cream,  the  excess  of  moisture  escapes  very  rapidly  and 
there  is  a  strong  tendency  toward  too  great  escape  of  moisture,  a 
low  moisture  in  the  finished  butter  and  a  correspondingly  low 
overrun.  The  excessive  expulsion  of  moisture  can  be  minimized  by 


358 


WORKING  THE;  BUTTER 


draining  less  thoroughly  and  working  with  the  churn  gates 
closed,  and  it  can  be  entirely  prevented  by  working  the  butter 
in  the  presence  of  a  small  amount  of  water.  The  water  so  used 
should  be  of  practically  the  same  temperature  as  the  butter. 

Table  56. — Showing  Amount  of  Moisture  in  Butter  After  Draw- 

ing-off  Buttermilk,  After  Washing  and  in  Finished  Butter 

When  Butter  Granules  Are  of  the  Size  of  Whe-at  Kernels.1 


No. 

Size  of 

Per  Cent  Moisture 

of 
Churning 

Granules 
Inches 

After  Drawing 
Buttermilk 

After  Drawing 
Washwater 

Finished 
Butter 

1 

A 

23.64 

19.87 

15.48 

2 

A 

30.66 

26.66 

13.12 

3 

A 

21.77 

19.20 

14.45 

4 

A 

25.00 

19.66 

14.59 

5 

A 

19.83 

19.07 

13.84 

6 

A 

21.28 

19.57 

13.86 

7 

A 

24.04 

18.58 

14.15 

8 

A 

22.55 

18.63 

14.78 

9 

A 

22.33 

17.65 

15.00 

10 

A 

21.70 

16.94 

15.80 

Averages    .  .  . 

| 

23.28 

19.58 

14.51 

When  the  butter  granules  are  very  hard,  so  that  consider- 
able working  may  be  necessary  in  order  to  bring  the  moisture 
content  up  to  the  maximum  allowed  by  law  (less  than  sixteen 
per  cent),  there  is  always  more  or  less  danger  of  injury  to  the 
grain  of  butter. 

If  the  butter  granules  are  soft,  flaky,  irregular  and  have  a 
ragged  surface,  as  is  usually  the  case  in  late  spring  and  early 
summer,  when  most  of  the  cows  have  freshened  and  have  access 
to  abundance  of  succulent  pasture,  which  conditions  yield  fat 
globules  of  large  average  size,  and  butterfat  with  a  relatively 
low  melting  point,  the  excess  moisture  does  not  escape  so  rea- 
dily, and  there  is  danger  of  excessive  moisture  in  the  finished 
butter.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  cream  with  predominatingly 
large  fat  globules  and  butterfat  with  a  low  melting  point,  pro- 
duce a  soft  butter.  This  soft  butter  is  more  miscible  with  water 


1  Hunziker,   Mills  and   Spitzer,   Moisture  Control  of  Butter.   Purdue   Bulletin 
160,    1912. 


WORKING  TH£  BUTTER  359 

than  hard  butter  and  when  the  churn  is  stopped,  the  moisture 
is  incorporated  in  the  butter  granules  in  the  form  of  very  fine 
drops  which  are  expelled  with  difficulty.  Whenever  the  butter 
maker  has  difficulty  to  keep  the  moisture  down,  the  butter  should 
be  drained  very  thoroughly  before  working  and  should  be  worked 
with  the  churn  doors  ajar.  It  is  then  advisable  to  work  the  but- 
ter four  to  five  revolutions  before  the  salt  is  added  and  to  drain 
again.  During  the  working  the  churn  should  be  stopped  after 
every  two  to  three  revolutions,  allowing  it  to  swing  freely,  with 
the  churn  doors  ajar  and  down,  permitting  the  free  moisture 
to  escape  readily.  In  cases  of  extreme  difficulty  of  keeping  the 
moisture  within  the  limits  of  the  law,  it  may  be  necessary  to 
delay  the  working  after  the  salt  has  been  added,  for  a  consider- 
able time.  This  gives  the  salt  an  opportunity  to  assist  in  the 
expulsion  of  moisture.  Owing  to  its  great  affinity  for  water 
it  draws  the  minute  drops  of  water  out  of  the  butter  and  gathers 
them  in  larger  drops  which,  upon  subsequent  working,  are  more 
easily  expelled. 

It  occasionally  happens  that,  owing  to  the  extreme  natural 
softness  of  the  butterfat,  or  to  faulty  handling  of  the  cream 
before  churning,  or  to  too  high  a  churning  temperature,  no 
amount  of  working  will  reduce  the  moisture  content  to  or  below 
the  maximum  legal  limit.  In  such  butter  the  moisture  has 
formed  so  intimate  a  mixture  with  the  fat,  and  moisture  incor- 
poration is  so  complete,  that  additional  working,  even  to  the 
extent  of  injuring  the  grain  of  the  butter,  fails  to  expel  water. 
The  only  practical  way  to  bring  the  moisture  content  of  such 
butter  within  the  limits  of  the  law,  is  to  set  the  butter  in  the  cold 
room  and  allow  it  to  harden  over  night.  The  next  day  it  is 
then  cut  up  into  small  pieces  and  worked  again  with  the  churn 
doors  ajar  and  in  a  similar  manner  as  above  described.  Unless 
its  moisture  content  is  very  greatly  in  excess  and  the  incor- 
porated moisture  is  present  in  the  form  of  abnormally  fine  drops, 
this  second  working  will  remove  sufficient  moisture  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  law.  If  it  still  contains  over  sixteen  per  cent 
moisture,  more  moisture  may  be  expelled  by  putting  the  butter 
back  into  the  cold  room  and  working  it  again  the  next  day.  The 
hardening  of  the  butter  in  the  cold  changes  its  mechanical  make- 
up and  makes  it  more  granular.  Some  of  the  minute  water  par- 


360  WORKING  THE;  BUTTER 

tides  gather  into  large  drops  which  can  be  expelled  when  the 
butter  is  worked  again.  It  is  obvious  that  this  repeated  work- 
ing does  not  improve  the  body  of  the  butter  and  should  be 
avoided  as  much  as  possible. 

The  buttermaker  should  bear  in  mind  that  when  the  but- 
ter has  been  washed,  it  contains  excessive  moisture,  part  of 
which  must  be  expelled,  and  that  moisture  control  is  not  so 
much  a  matter  of  incorporating  additional  moisture  into  but- 
ter, as  it  is  a  matter  of  properly  regulating  the  expulsion  of 
moisture.  The  control  of  the  expulsion  of  moisture  can  be 
greatly  facilitated  by  proper  handling  of  the  cream  as  to  churn- 
ing temperature,  according  to  the  character  of  the  butterfat  and 
this  in  turn  is  a  problem  which  requires  constant  observation 
and  intelligent  adjustment  of  the  process  in  accordance  with  pre- 
vailing conditions.  See  also  "Moisture  Control." 

Effect  of  Working  on  the  Flavor  and  Keeping  Quality  of 
Butter. — Generally  speaking,  the  less  the  butter  is  worked  and 
the  more  nearly  the  grain  of  the  butter  is  preserved,'  the  better 
will  be  the  flavor  and  keeping  quality  of  the  finished  product. 
There  is  an  unmistakable  tendency  in  American  creameries  to 
work  their  butter  too  much  and  thereby  to  impair  its  body,  and 
possibly  its  flavor  and  keeping  quality.  This  tendency  is  chiefly 
the  result  of  one  or  both  of  the  following  two  practices : 

In  order  to  hasten  the  process  of  manufacture  the  butter  is 
worked  immediately  after  the  salt  has  been  added.  The  salt  is 
given  no  time  to  dissolve  before  working.  This  requires  con- 
siderable working,  especially  when  the  usually  large  amount  of 
salt  is  incorporated,  in  order  to  insure  complete  solution  of  the 
salt  and  to  avoid  grittiness  and  in  order  to  distribute  the  salt 
evenly  and  to  fuse  the  water  and  brine  completely  so  as  to  avoid 
waviness  and  mottles.  For  this  reason  some  of  the  very  badly 
mottled  butter  has  an  exceptionally  good  flavor.  This  is  not  due 
to  the  presence  of  the  mottles,  but  it  is  the  result  of  the  same 
condition  which  tends  to  bring  about  the  mottles,  usually  under- 
working, or  the  absence  of  overworking.  In  some  European 
creameries  where  a  special  effort  is  made  to  produce  quality,  the 
butter  is  not  worked  for  several  hours  after  the  salt  has  been 
added.  The  salt  thus  has  an  opportunity  to  largely  go  in  solution 


WORKING  THE:  BUTTER  361 

before  working  and  but  little  working  is  needed  to  complete  the 
solution  and  distribution  of  the  salt.  The  same  reason,  why  under- 
worked butter  is  of  better  quality  than  much-worked  butter, 
also  accounts  in  part  for  the  fact  that  unsalted  butter  is  often 
of  better  quality  and  keeps  better  than  salted  butter.  Such 
butter  does  not  require  working  in  order  to  insure  solution  of 
the  salt  and  to  avoid  mottles.  It  therefore  is  often  not  worked 
as  much  as  salted  butter  and  has  a  better  body  and  better  grain. 
The  second  reason  for  the  tendency  of  overworking  butter 
is  the  common  practice  of  trying  to  incorporate  the  maximum 
amount  of  moisture  which  the  law  permits.  In  late  spring  and 
early  summer,  when  the  butter  is  relatively  soft  and  naturally 
takes  up  water  readily,  there  usually  is  no  need  of  excessive 
working  in  order  to  incorporate  moisture,  and  if  the  buttermaker 
understands  his  business,  he  need  not  overwork  the  butter  to 
the  extent  of  injuring  its  body  or  flavor.  But  not  so  when  the 
butter  comes  firm  and  tends  to  be  low  in  moisture  as  is  the  case 
in  fall,  winter  and  early  spring.  Under  these  conditions  the 
butter  often  requires  a  comparatively  large  amount  of  working 
in  order  to  contain  the  maximum  amount  of  moisture  allowed 
by  law.  This  is  true  especially  in  the  states  where  much  cot- 
tonseed meal  and  similar  fodder  producing  hard  and  crumbly  but- 
ter, are  fed.  Butter  made  from  such  cream,  when  worked  in 
the  usual  way,  and  just  enough  to  insure  proper  compactness; 
usually  does  not  contain  much  over  13.5  per  cent  moisture  and 
the  additional  moisture  can  only  be  incorporated  by  additional 
working  and  this  is  often  done  at  the  expense  of  body,  flavor 
and  keeping  quality.  From  the  point  of  view  of  the  quality 
of  American  butter  this  additional  working  or  overworking  is 
objectionable  and  it  is  a  debatable  question  if,  in  the  long  run, 
the  loss  in  price  and  prestige  due  to  sacrifice  in  quality,  is  not 
greater  than  the  increased  returns  due  to  larger  overrun.  If 
in  winter,  when  butter  naturally  conies  in  the  form  of  smooth, 
round  and  firm  granules,  the  creamery  insists  on  incorporating 
the  maximum  amount  of  moisture  permitted  by  law,  it  would 
seem  preferable  to  churn  at  a  sufficiently  higher  temperature 
to  make  the  butter  come  somewhat  less  firm,  thereby  increasing 
its  ability  to  naturally  hold  moisture  and  making  unnecessary 
excessive  working.  In  this  case  great  care  should  be  exercised 


362  WORKING  THE  BUTTER 

to  chill  the  cream  sufficiently  long  so  as  to  guard  against  a 
slushy  and  leaky  body  of  the  butter. 

The  exact  channels  through  which  overworking  of  butter 
deteriorates  its  flavor  and  tends  to  cause  such  off-flavors  as 
oily,  metallic  and  fishy  flavors,  are  not  as  yet  well  understood. 
Rogers1  shows  experimentally  that  overworking  increases  the 
amount  of  air  present  in  butter  and  that  the  presence  of  air,  in 
combination  with  other  influences,  enhances  oxidation  of  the 
non-fatty  constituents  of  butter.  He  further  states  that  the 
development  of  a  fishy  flavor  is  hastened  and  made  more  cer- 
tain by  overworking,  which  increases  the  air  and  the  oxidizing 
surface  and  that  fishy  flavor  may  be  produced  with  reasonable 
certainty  by  overworking  the  butter  made  from  sour  cream. 

Rogers'  conclusions  on  this  point  have  not  been  fully  borne 
out  by  the  work  of  Hunziker.  While  overworking  certainly 
does  not  improve  the  quality  of  butter,  it  fails  to  produce  the 
distinct  defects  indicated  by  Rogers  with  any  degree  of  regu- 
larity. Nor  does  it  necessarily  increase  the  air  content  of  but- 
ter. The  incorporation  of  air  in  butter  begins  as  soon  as  the 
cream  is  subjected  to  agitation  in  the  churn  and  up  to  a  certain 
'point  it  increases,  greatly  retarding  the  completion  of  the 
churning  process.  In  fact  the  amount  of  air  incorporated  in 
the  interior  and  on  the  surface  of  the  still  microscopic  butter 
granules  is  so  great,  that  it  is  difficult  to  make  satisfactory  micro- 
scopic examinations  of  these  granules.  After  the  granules  have 
reached  a  sufficient  size  to  "break"  the  fat-in-skimmilk  emulsion 
and  to  establish  a  buttermilk-in-fat  emulsion  which  is  butter, 
much  of  this  air  is  released  and  the  completion  of  the  churn- 
ing process  is  facilitated.  And  from  this  point  on,  any  further 
churning  and  subsequent  working  appears  to  effect  an  expulsion 
of  a  portion  of  the  air  locked  up  in  the  butter,  rather  than  an 
incorporation  of  additional  air. 

There  is  a  vast  difference  between'  the  overworking  of  but- 
ter that  results  from  manipulating  it  with  a  spatula  in  small 
amounts  as  described  by  Rogers,  and  by  working  it  in  the  com- 
bined churn  and  worker.  While  it  is  quite  conceivable  how,  by 
special  effort,  air  may  be  beaten  into  soft  butter  with  a  spatula, 
it  is  much  less  obvious  that  the  squeezing  which  the  butter 


1  Rogers,  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter,  U.  S.  Dept  Agr.,  B.A.I.  Circular  146,  1909. 


WORKING  THE  BUTTER  363 

receives  in  the  commercial  combined  churn  and  worker  incor- 
porates air  and  the  probability  of  actual  air  expulsion  in  this 
case  is  by  no  means  remote. 

However,  it  is  unquestionably  a  fact,  that  any  air  perma- 
nently present  in  the  butter,  becomes  very  finely  divided  and 
emulsified  by  overworking  and  in  this  form  a  much  larger  area 
of  the  butter  becomes  exposed  to  this  air,  so  that,  even  without 
the  actual  incorporation  of  additional  air,  the  injurious  effect 
of  the  air  present  is  greatly  magnified. 

The  fact  that  overworking  gives  the  butter  a  whiter  color 
is  not  necessarily  due  to  the  incorporation  of  additional  air  as 
Rogers  concluded,  but  it  is  invariably  caused  by  the  reduction 
of  the  size  of  the  water  droplets  as  shown  by  Hunziker  and 
Hosman.  Unsalted  butter  is  always  whitef  than  salted  butter, 
both,  before  working  and  during  any  part  of  the  working  proc- 
ess. Microscopic  examinations  of  butter  during  all  stages  of 
the  working  process,  by  Hunziker  and  Hosman,  conclusively 
show,  that  in  unsalted  butter  the  water  droplets  are  exceedingly 
minute  while  in  salted  butter  they  are  relatively  large,  espe- 
cially during  the  early  stages  of  the  working  process.  And, 
again,  the  whitening  effect  due  to  working  takes  place  even  when 
the  butter  is  submerged  in  water  during  the  working  process, 
eliminating  any  possibility  of  incorporation  of  additional  air. 

It  is  also  not  improbable,  though  not  experimentally  proven, 
that  the  destruction  of  the  grain  of  the  butter,  as  is  the  case  in 
overworking,  tends  to  lessen  the  resistance  of  the  fat  to  such 
oxidizing  agencies  as  air,  metallic  salts,  etc.  and  therefore  hastens 
its  deterioration. 

When  the  butter  has  been  worked  enough,  the  workers  are 
stopped  and  the  churn  is  given  another  revolution  or  two  in 
order  to  deposit  the  butter  on  top  of  the  workers  from  where 
it  can  be  easily  removed  and  transferred  to  the  tubs  or  cubes, 
or  other  receptacles. 

Before  removing  the  butter  from  the  churn  it  should  be 
accurately  tested  for  moisture  content,  so  that  if  the  moisture  is 
excessive,  or  deficient,  it  may  be  corrected  by  further  working. 
For  directions  on  controlling  moisture  see  also  chapter  on  Com- 
position of  Butter — Moisture  Control — Chapter  XVIII. ,  and  for 
directions  on  moisture  tests  see  Chapter  XXII. 


364  PACKING  BUTTER 

CHAPTER  XII. 
PACKING  BUTTER. 

Variety  of  Packages. — Butter  is  packed  and  placed  upon  the 
market  in  a  great  variety  of  receptacles  and  forms,  varying  wide- 
ly in  shape,  style  and  material,  such  as  tubs,  boxes,  cubes,  fir- 
kins, tin  cans,  crocks,  pails,  prints,  rolls  and  individual  molds, 
and  varying  in  weight  from  one-fourth  pound  bars  up  to  110 
pound  firkins.  The  standard  Danish  firkin  weighs  50  kilograms, 
or  110.23  pounds  net.  The  great  bulk  of  the  American  butter 
that  is  put  up  for  the  wholesale  produce  trade  in  the  large  mar- 
kets is  packed  in  tubs,  boxes  and  cubes,  while  the  local  trade  and 
retail  stores  prefer  much  of  their  butter  in  the  finished  package, 
the  print.  Export  butter  is  put  up  in  tubs  and  cubes,  and  butter 
intended  for  the  tropics  and  much  of  the  butter  furnished  the 
United  States  Navy,  is  packed  in  hermetically  sealed  tin  cans. 
Farm  butter  is  packed  in  crocks,  small  fibre  boxes,  small  tubs 
and  pails,  rolls,  special  molds  and  prints.  In  many  foreign 
countries  the  firkin  is  the  predominating  package,  though  much 
foreign  butter  is  also  packed  in  boxes  and  prints. 

Tubs. — Butter  tubs  are  usually  constructed  of  spruce  or 
white  ash.  They  range  in  size  from  ten  pounds  to  63  pounds 
net.  While  no  particular  size  has  been  adopted  officially  as 
the  standard  size  tub,  the  60  to  63  pound  tub  is  by  far  the  most 
popular  and  is  used  for  the  great  bulk  of  American  tub  butter. 

The  war  situation  threatened  a  shortage  of  white  ash  and 
especially  of  spruce.  For  a  time  the  creameries  had  difficulty 
in  locating  and  contracting  for  a  sufficient  supply  of  tubs  and 
prices  soared  to  an  unprecedented  level.  A  campaign  was  start- 
ed to  invite  and  urge  the  creamerymen  to  break  away  from  the 
butter  tub  and  use  boxes  or  cubes  instead.  The  effort  failed  and 
the  tub  prevailed  in  spite  of  all  handicaps.  The  reason  for  this 
persistence  and  tenacity  with  which  creameries  stick  to  the  tub 
is  not  limited  by  mere  custom  and  usage.  There  is  no  question 
that,  all  things  considered,  the  60  to  63  pound  tub  is  the  most 
satisfactory  form  of  package  in  which  to  handle  butter  in  bulk. 
The  mechanical  handling  at  the  creamery,  in  transit,  at  the 
market  end  and  in  cold  storage  is  by  far  easier  and  more  prac- 


PACKING  BUTTER  365 

tical  than  any  other  package  of  butter  of  equal  capacity.  With 
the  possible  exception  of  the  firkin,  which  is  not  used  in  this 
country,  and  of  the  tin  can  which  is  too  expensive  a  package  for 
domestic  use,  the  butter  tub  withstands  better  the  abuse  and 
rough  handling  it  is  necessarily  subjected  to  in  its  journey  from 
the  creamery  to  the  market,  and  arrives  at  its  destination  in 
better  condition  than  other  butter  receptacles.  Unlike  cubes 
and  boxes  it  has  no  nailed  sides,  ends,  bottoms  and  tops  to  tear 
loose,  the  butter  in  it  does  not  become  soiled,  because  the  tub 
is  tight  and  dust-proof,  which  is  often  not  the  case  with  the 
boxes  used  for  bulk  butter. 

The  tub  strips  easily  and  quickly,  the  package  does  not  have 
to  be  destroyed  in  order  to  get  the  butter  out.  Its  disadvan- 
tages are  that  it  does  not  pack  quite  as  closely  as  square  boxes, 
requiring  somewhat  more  space  in  transit  and  in  storage,  and 
that  tubbed  butter  does  not  cut  as  satisfactorily  for  putting  up 
prints  as  does  cube  butter. 

"Smaller  size  tubs  are  used  upon  special  request,  to  fill  spe- 
cial orders  and  for  special  occasions,  such  as  for  scoring  contest 
butter,  etc.  Butter  tubs  are  lined  with  parchment  liners  and 
circles  which  protect  the  butter  from  woody  odor,  impurities, 
and  contamination  with  mold  and  prevent  it  from  sticking  to 
the  wood,  so  that  the  butter  slips  out  of  the  inverted  tub  readily 
when  "stripped." 

Butter  tubs  should  be  constructed  of  the  best  quality  of 
sound  wood,  and  they  should  be  stored  in  a  dry,  clean  place  in 
the  creamery.  They  should  be  well  put  together,  tight,  and 
free  from  cracked  staves.  Tubs  made  from  lumber  that  was 
felled  while  the  sap  was  still  running,  or  that  has  been  lying- 
in  stagnant  ponds,  tend  to  give  rise  to  woody  odor  and  molds 
in  butter.  Their  wood  is  prone  to  give  butter  an  objectionable 
woody  flavor.  Often  it  is  partly  decayed  and  porous,  in  which 
condition  it  may  harbor  mold  spores  which  contaminate  the 
butter.  Exposure  of  the  tubs  to  dampness  and  to  unclean  sur- 
roundings in  the  creamery  is  an  additional  source  of  moldy  but- 
ter. When  stored  in  a  damp  room  the  tubs  frequently  become 
spotted  inside  and  out  with  mold  growth.  The  liners  also  may 
become  the  source  of  moldy  butter,  unless  made  of  a  good 


366  PACKING  BUTTER 

quality  of  parchment,  kept  in  a  clean,  dry  place  and  properly 
treated  before  use. 

Preparation  of  Tubs  and  Liners. — All  butter  tubs  should 
be  properly  treated  before  being  packed,  in  order  to  remove 
the  woody  odor  which  is  prone  to  be  absorbed  by  the  butter, 
to  free  them  from  mold  spores  with  which  they  are  always 
more  or  less  contaminated,  to  make  them  airtight  to  hinder  the 
growth  of  molds  after  packing,  and  to  prevent  excessive  loss 
of  weight  due  to  leakage  of  brine.  Moldy  butter  in  the  great 
majority  of  cases  is  the  direct  result  of  lack  of  attention  to 
the  proper  treatment  of  tubs  and  liners. 

Since  salt  has  properties  antagonistic  to  the  growth  of 
molds,  the  soaking  of  the  tubs  in  a  saturated  solution  of  hot 
salt  brine  is  a  very  common  and  fairly  effective  method  of 
treatment.  This  is  best  done  by  immersing  the  tubs  in  a  long 
vat  containing  the  hot  brine.  The  tubs  should  be  nested  so  as  to 
retain  their  shape,  otherwise  they  are  prone  to  warp  out  of 
shape.  The  tubs  should  be  set  to  soak  on  the  day  before  they 
are  needed.  If  they  are  not  clean  or  show  signs  of  mold  spots, 
they  should  be  thoroughly  scrubbed  with  a  brush  and  hot  water 
containing  some  alkali,  before  soaking.  Steaming  for  5  to  10 
minutes  is  an  additional  safeguard  against  mold.  The  addition 
to  the  water  or  brine  in  which  the  tubs  are  soaked,  of  formalde- 
hyde, sodium  hypochlorite,  boric  acid  and  other  disinfectants 
has  also  been  recommended  to  guard  against  mold. 

Formaldehyde  lends  the  butter  an  objectionable  flavor  and 
odor,  if  used  in  other  than  exceedingly  dilute  solutions.  A  safe 
proportion  that  still  is  antagonistic  to  mold  growth  is  a  dilu- 
tion of  1  part  of  formaldehyde  in  400  parts  of  water,  or  about 
J  ounce  formaldehyde  in  one  gallon  of  water. 

Hypochlorite  of  soda  also  should  be  used  with  caution,  be- 
cause of  its  tendency  to  bleach  butter.  It  may  be  used  at  the 
rate  of  two  tablespoons  hypochlorite  in  four  gallons  of  water. 

Boric  acid  has  no  known  injurious  effect  on  butter.  It  is 
best  used  in  the  form  of  a  .5  per  cent  solution  or  about  2/3 
ounce  in  one  gallon  of  water. 

It  should  be  clearly  understood  that  all  these  disinfectants 
and  antiseptics  are  injurious  to  health  when  consumed  with 


PACKING  BUTTER  367 

food,  and  their  presence  in  butter  is  in  violation  of  the  Federal 
Pure  Food  Act  of  1906.  Their  use  for  treatment  of  tubs  and  liners 
may  be  justifiable  as  a  means  to  stamp  out  an  epidemic  of  mold 
in  butter,  but  their  continued  use  cannot  be  recommended  and 
in  any  event  the  tubs  after  treatment  should  be  rinsed  with 
clean  water  or  distilled  water  before  packing. 

Within  the  past  decade  the  practice  of  brine-soaking  the 
tubs  has  been  superseded  in  a  great  many  creameries  by  the 
more  efficient  treatment  of  paraffining  them.  The  tubs  should 
be  paraffined  whenever  facilities  permit.  Proper  paraffining  obvi- 
ates the  temptation  of  using  antiseptics  as  far  as  the  tub  as 
a  source  of  mold  in  butter  is  concerned. 

When  butter  is  packed  in  paraffined  tubs,  it  is  unnecessary 
to  soak  the  tubs  in  water  or  brine,  in  fact  it  is  preferable  not  to, 
because  the  unsoaked  tubs  present  a  much  more  attractive  ap- 
pearance. The  old  practice  of  soaking  butter  tubs  in  water 
prior  to  packing  had  for  its  purpose  to  load  the  wood  with  suf- 
ficient wajter  to  minimize  the  absorption  by  the  tub  of  moisture 
contained  in  the  butter,  which  caused  a  considerable  shrink- 
age in  net  weight.  A  properly  paraffined  tub  is  impervious  to 
water  and  therefore  is  incapable  of  taking  up  moisture  from  the 
butter.  If  the  tubs  are  not  soaked  in  water  the  creamery  should 
always  put  the  tare  on  the  tub.  The  unsoaked  tub  weighs  from 
1  to  2  pounds  less  than  the  soaked  tub.  Without  determination 
of  the  tare  weight,  this  difference  will  be  lost  to  the  creamery. 

Soaking  in  water  or  brine  before  paraffining  is  desirable, 
however,  in  the  case  of  tubs  the  staves  and  bottoms  of  which 
have  shrunk  to  the  point  where  a  tight  tub  can  not  be  secured 
and  in  order  to  hold  the  tub  together. 

Before  paraffining,  the  tubs  should  be  steamed  out  thorough- 
ly until  they  are  hot  and  dry.  This  opens  the  pores  and  permits 
the  hot  paraffine  to  penetrate.  If  they  are  paraffined  while  wet 
the  paraffine  will  not  penetrate,  it  merely  sticks  to  the  surface 
and  is  prone  to  peel  off.  If  they  are  cold  the  paraffine  cools 
before  it  has  an  opportunity  to  fill  the  pores,  it  fails  to  spread, 
in  a  thin,  smooth  and  uniform  layer  and  tends  to  crack. 

The  paraffine  should  be  applied  in  such  a  way  that  it  will 
coat  the  inside  of  the  tub  in  the  form  of  a  thin  film,  filling  the 


368  PACKING  BUTTER 

pores  and  cracks.  The  paraffine  may  be  applied  with  a  brush  or 
by  pouring  a  small  amount  into  the  tub  and  rotating  the  tub 
until  the  entire  surface  is  covered,  or  it  may  be  sprayed  into  the 
tub  under  pressure.  The  brush  method  is  somewhat  crude  and 
tends  to  produce  an  uneven  coating  owing  to  rapid  cooling  of 
the  paraffine. 

In  order  to  secure  satisfactory  results  and  avoid  a  rough 
and  uneven  coating  of  paraffine,  the  paraffine  must  be  heated 
to  the  proper  temperature.  Rogers1  found  that  at  a  temperature 
of  250  to  260  degrees  F.  the  paraffine  can  be  applied  most  satis- 
factorily. The  paraffine  may  be  heated  over  an  oil  stove  or 
gas  burner,  but  a  more  convenient  arrangement,  devised  by 
Rogers,  consists  of  a  large  pail  or  small  tank  equipped  with  a 
steam  coil  connected  with  the  steam  line  of  the  creamery,  and  a 
drip  is  provided  extending  through  the  bottom  of  the  tank  and 
permitting  the  condensed  steam  in  the  coil  to  escape.  A  small 
amount  of  the  hot  paraffine  is  dipped  from  the  tank  into  the  tub, 
the  tub  is  rotated  so  that  the  paraffine  covers  its  entire  inside 
surface.  Then  the  tub  is  inverted  on  a  galvanized  iron  drip  tray  in 
order  to  pour  out,  and  reclaim  any  excess  paraffine  in  the  tub. 
Such  an  outfit  can  be  constructed  at  small  cost  and  is  very 
serviceable,  especially  in  small  creameries. 

There  are  now  on  the  market  also  patented  paraffiners 
which  both  steam  and  paraffine  the  tub.  The  paraffine  is  heated 
by  a  steam  heated  jacket.  The  tub  is  inverted  over  the  paraffin- 
er  and  steamed  and  sprayed  with  paraffine  under  pressure.  These 
machines  operate  very  fast,  coating  the  tub  with  a  smooth 
layer  of  uniform  thickness  and  economizing  the  paraffine.  These 
paraffiners  are  rapidly  replacing  the  dipper  and  brush  method. 

Aside  from  protecting  butter  against  mold  contamination 
and  mold  growth  the  paraffining  of  tubs  is  advisable  in  order 
to  minimize  loss  in  weight  due  to  leakage  of  moisture  and  to 
give  the  tub  a  neater  appearance.  Rogers1  found  the  following 
loss  of  moisture  in  12  paraffined  and  12  unparaffined  tubs  of 
butter  on  the  eighth  day  after  packing: 


1  Rogers,   Prevention  of  Molds  in  Butter  Tubs,   U.   S.  Dept.  Agr.  B.  A.   I. 
Bull.  89.  1906. 


PACKING  BUTTER 


369 


Paraffined  tubs 
Pounds  of  butter 
757y4 
756 


Unparaffined  tubs 
Pounds  of  butter 


759 


When  packed 
8  days  later 
Shrinkage 

When  paraffine  of  the  proper  temperature  is  used,  from  two 
to  three  ounces  are  required  per  tub.  The  labor  cost  of  paraffin- 
ing is  no  greater  than  that  of  preparing  a  saturated  brine  solution. 


Tig.  72.     Tub  Parafflner 

Courtesy  Creamery  Package  Mfg.  Co. 

It  is  advisable  to  paraffine  tubs  and  to  clean  covers  as 
shortly  before  they  are  needed  as  the  routine  of  the  factory 
permits,  and  to  stack  them,  inverted,  in  a  clean  place,  so  as  to 
prevent  unnecessary  soiling  and  recontamination. 

Paraffined  tubs  should  always  be  lined  with  parchment  liners 
and  circles,  the  same  as  the  tubs  prepared  in  the  ordinary  way. 
Unlined  paraffined  tubs  strip  with  difficulty,  the  butter  sticks  to 
the  comparatively  rough  surface  of  the  paraffine.  This  is  a 
serious  objection  at  the  market  end. 

Preparation  of  Parchment  Liners  and  Circles. — The  best 
quality  of  parchment  liners  only  should  be  purchased.  Inferior 
parchment  invites  excessive  leakage  of  moisture  and  may  injure 
the  flavor  of  the  butter.  In  the  summer  season,  when  the 
butter  is  often  exposed  to  temperature  conditions  that  cause  it 
to-be  soft  and  therefore  to  yield  readily  to  the  knocks  to  which 
the  tub  is  subjected  in  transit,  there  is  always  a  tendency  for 


370  PACKING  BUTTER 

moisture  to  be  pounded  out.  Evaporation  at  the  higher  tem- 
perature is  also  most  rapid.  It  is  advisable,  therefore,  to  use 
extra  heavy  liners  in  summer. 

The  liners  should  be  of  ample  size  so  they  will  abundantly 
lap  on  the  side,  fold  under  at  the  bottom  and  lap  over  at  the 
top.  The  circles  should  be  large  enough  to  cover  the  entire 
bottom  of  the  tub.  There  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  supply 
houses  to  furnish  liners  and  circles  that  are  of  inadequate  dimen- 
sions, unless  the  desired  dimensions  are  specifically  demanded. 

The  stock  of  parchment  liners  and  circles  should  be  kept 
in  a  clean,  dry  room,  protected  against  dust,  dirt  and  dampness. 
They  should  not  be  stored  in  the  creamery  cold  room  which  is 
almost  always  damp. 

Immediately  before  use  they  should  be  thoroughly  soaked  in 
hot  saturated  brine.  The  brine  should  be  of  such  strength  that 
a  deposit  of  undissolved  salt  forms  in  the  receptacle,  it  should 
be  supersaturated,  and  its  temperature  should  be  raised  to  the 
boiling  point.  The  circles  and  liners  should  be  soaked  in  this 
hot  brine  for  at  least  5  minutes.  Such  treatment  is  a  three-fold 
protection  against  mold  development.  The  heat  destroys  mold 
spores  that  may  adhere  to  the  parchment,  the  soaking  frees 
the  parchment  from  much  of  .its  glucose  content  and  glucose 
is  an  ideal  food  for  bacteria,  and  the  brine  adhering  to  the  parch- 
ment helps  to  inhibit  the  growth  of  mold  germs  that  may  be 
in  or  on  the  butter. 

This  treatment  should  be  given  parchment  liners  and  cir- 
cles used  for  packing  unsalted  butter  as  well  as  salted  butter. 
The  unsalted  butter,  because  of  the  readiness  with  which  it  be- 
comes moldy,  needs  these  precautions  more  urgently  than  the 
salted  butter.  The  fact  that  the  brine-treated  liner  conveys 
some  salt  to  the  surface  of  the  butter  needs  no  serious  consider- 
ation. The  very  small  amount  of  salt  thus  imparted  to  butter 
is  not  noticeable  and  does  not  remove  such  butter  from  the 
class  of  unsalted  butter. 

The  lining  of  the  tubs  should  be  done  with  care.  The  bot- 
tom circle  should  be  so  placed  as  to  cover  the  entire  bottom  of 
the  tub,  and  the  line  should  be  strung  around  the  periphery  of 
the  tub  uniformly  and  neatly,  and  iri  such  a  manner  as  to  cause 
one  inch  of  the  liner  to  project  above  the  top  of  the  tub. 


PACKING  BUTTER  371 

The  tub  covers  should  also  receive  some  attention.  They 
often  contain  cinders,  soot  and  dust,  which  they  usually  gather 
in  transit  to  the  creamery  and  in  the  creamery  stock  room. 
These  impurities,  when  the  cover  is  fastened  to  the  packed 
tub,  drop  on  the  salt  which  is  generally  sprinkled  on  the  top 
circle  and  they  soil  both  the  salt  and  the  circle,  give  the  pack- 
age, when  opened  by  the  prospective  buyer,  an  unsightly  ap- 
pearance and  convey  an  unfavorable  impression.  If  the  tub 
happens  to  be  subjected  to  very  rough  handling,  they  even  may 
work  into  the  butter.  It  is  important,  therefore,  that  the  tub 
covers  be  thoroughly  cleaned  before  they  are  fastened  to  the 
tub.  This  can  readily  be  done  by  turning  them  bottomside  up 
and  turning  the  water  hose  on  them  until  they  are  freed  from 
all  foreign  matter. 

Boxes  and  Cubes. — Some  of  the  Eastern  markets  require 
the  butter  to  be  packed  in  square  wooden  boxes,  holding  about 
50  pounds  of  butter.  These  boxes  should  be  constructed  of 
good  sound  wood,  with  bottoms,  sides  and  tops  at  least  one-half 
inch,  and  ends  at  least  %  inch  thick,  properly  assembled  and 
nailed  with  4  penny  cement-coated  wire  nails.  They  should  be 
paraffined  and  otherwise  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  the  tubs 
and  carefully  lined  with  parchment  paper. 

In  the  Pacific  Coast  markets,  both  for  domestic  and  for 
export  trade,  the  cube  is  the  standard  butter  package.  The 
San  Francisco  Wholesale  Dairy  Produce  Exchange  issued  offi- 
cial regulations  concerning  the  size,  shape  and  preparation  of 
the  cube,  which  went  in  force  Feb.  1,  1916,  as  follows : 

"In  order  to  grade  as  'extras'  butter  must  be  packed  in  cubes 
as  follows :  The  materials  of  the  sides,  tops  and  bottoms  shall 
be  one-half  inch  in  thickness  and  the  ends  %  inch  in  thickness. 
Lumber  to  be  surfaced  on  both  sides,  and  corners  of  cubes 
nosed  and  rounded.  Inside  dimensions  shall  be  12%xl2j4xl3^2 
inches  and  the  cubes  shall  be  packed  to  a  uniform  weight  of  69 
pounds  net  at  churn  and  marked  68  pounds  on  each  end  of  each 
cube,  as  the  shrinkage  from  creamery  to  market  is  about  one 
pound.  The  cubes  shall  be  paraffined  on  the  inside  and  lined 
with  parchment  paper." 


372  PACKING  BUTTER 

Firkins. — Firkins  are  not  used  in  this  country  for  packing 
butter  except  on  very  rare  occasions.  They  are  a  popular  but- 
ter package  in  European  countries  especially  for  export  and 
storage  butter  (Datierbutter).  Firkins  (Drittel)  hold  50  kilo- 
grams or  110.23  pounds  of  butter.  These  barrels  are  55  cm. 
(22  inches)  in  height  and  their  diameter  in  the  center  and  at 
the  ends  is  34  and  41  cm.  (13.6  and  16.4  inches)  respectively. 
Before  packing  they  are  steamed,  soaked  in  cold  water,  brine 
or  sal  soda  solution,  for  one  day,  then  rinsed  out  with  hot  water 
and  again  with  cold  water  after  which  salt  is  rubbed 
into  the  staves  on  the  inside.  The  bottom  is  then  covered  with 
a  thin  layer  of  salt,  and  the  firkin  is  lined  with  parchment. 
After  packing,  the  top  of  the  butter  is  beveled  off  toward  the 
sides  and  covered  with  a  layer  of  salt.  The  object  of  having 
the  surface  of  the  butter  highest  in  the  center  and  tapering 
toward  the  sides  is  to  permit  the  brine  to  run  into  the  space 
between  the  butter  and  the  side  of  the  barrel  when  the  butter, 
upon  standing,  has  receded  from  the  sides  of  the  barrel ;  this 
shuts  out  the  air  and  assists  in  protecting  the  butter  against 
mold,  etc. 

Tin  Cans. — Butter  intended  for  the  tropics  and  South  Amer- 
ica and  some  butter  supplied  the  U.  S.  Government  is  packed 
in  hermetically  sealed  tin  cans.  Exporting  houses  buying  their 
butter  from  American  creameries  and  supplying  the  tropics  buy 
the  butter  in  tubs  and  repack  it  into  tin  cans,  which  are  subse- 
quently hermetically  sealed.  These  cans  hold  from  J4  to  5 
kilograms,  the  metric  system  being  used  as  the  basis  of  weights. 
They  are  packed  into  cases  and  in  order  to  prevent  shaking  and 
damage  to  the  cans,  the  interstices  between  the  cans  and  the 
sides  of  the  case  are  filled  in  with  some  cheap,  light  packing  ma- 
terial such  as  rice  hulls,  shavings,  excelsior,  corrugated  paper,  etc. 

The  object  of  the  use  of  a  non-absorptive  and  hermetically 
sealed  package  is  to  prevent  leakage  of  water  and  oil  and  to 
improve  the  keeping  quality  of  the  butter,  exposed  to  unfavor- 
able temperature  conditions,  by  excluding  the  air.  Experiments 
conducted  by  Rogers1  show  that  sterile  butter  so  packed  and 


1  Rogers,   "Canned  Butter."     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  B.  A.  I.  Bulletin 
57,  1904. 


PACKING  BUTTER  373 

held  for  one  hundred  days  at  23°  C.  showed  no  increase  in  acid- 
ity. From  these  results  Rogers  concludes  that  the  causal  rela- 
tion of  physical  agents  such  as  heat  and  moisture  to  changes 
of  the  butter  is  excluded.  In  the  case  of  non-sterile  canned 
butter  examination  showed  a  marked  change  in  the  texture  and 
flavor.  The  changes  were  gradual;  when  about  25  days  old,  a 
distinct  off-flavor  was  noticed  which  increased  in  intensity,  un- 
til, at  two  hundred  and  ninety-seven  days  in  one  case  and  at 
two  hundred  and  fifty-one  days  in  another,  there  was  a  disagree- 
able, fishy  flavor  and  a  strong  penetrating  odor.  There  was  also 
a  correspondingly  slow  increase  in  the  acidity.  Micro-organ- 
isms which  consisted  almost  entirely  of  lactic  acid  bacteria,  a 
comparatively  small  number  of  Torula  yeasts  and  a  few  lique- 
fying bacteria  decreased  rapidly  until  there  were  present  only 
a  few  spore-forming  liquefying,  bacteria.  Owing  to  this  marked 
decrease  in  germ  life,  Rogers  attributes  the  increase  in  acidity 
and  the  off-flavor  to  the  probable  action  of  fat-splitting  enzymes. 

Weigmann1  in  a  very  extensive  investigation  studied  the 
keeping  quality  of  butter  made  by  different  processes  and  sealed 
in  tin  cans,  samples  of  which  were  placed  on  board  of  German 
men-of-war  and  which  were  returned  and  examined  at  intervals 
of  six,  twelve  and  eighteen  months.  These  results  demonstrated 
that  there  is  a  great  variation  in  the  keeping  quality  of  different 
lots  of  butter  and  that  while  prolonged  storage  under  unfavor- 
able temperature  conditions  tended  to  intensify  the  deterioration 
of  the  butter,  a  few  of  the  samples  packed  in  tin  cans  returned  in 
excellent  condition  even  after  eighteen  months'  travel.  While 
Weigmann's  results  were  not  conclusive  and  while  his  funda- 
mental aim  was  to  determine  that  process  of  manufacture  which 
would  produce  the  best  keeping  butter,  the  data  secured  demon- 
strated that  under  certain  ideal  conditions  of  manufacture,  butter 
packed  in  tin  cans  has  remarkable  keeping  quality. 

In  the  canning  of  butter  the  tin  plate  used  should  be  coated 
with  shellac  or  enamel  to  protect  the  can  against  the  action  of 
the  acids  and  the  brine  of  the  butter  and  to  guard  the  butter 
against  rapid  deterioration  as  the  result  of  such  action.  While 
tin  itself  is  an  inert  metal  that  does  not  yield  to  the  action  of 


1  Weigmann,  "Versuche  zur  Bereitung  von  Dauerbutter"  Milchwirtschaft- 
liches  Zentralblatt,  Vol.  44.     Nos.  23  and  24,  1915. 


374  PACKING  BUTTER 

acids  and  brine,  iron  is  quickly  corroded  by  these  agents.  The 
tin  plate  of  the  butter  cans  is  sheet  iron  with  a  thin  coating  of 
tin.  This  tin  coating  is  not  always  entirely  impervious  and 
sooner  or  later  the  acids  and  the  brine  will  attack  the  iron  un- 
derneath, unless  the  tin  plate  is  heavily  shellaced.  Iron  salts 
thus  formed  are  disastrous  to  the  quality  of  the  butter.  Of  late 
years,  and  particularly  as  the  result  of  the  shortage  of  tin  plate, 
cans  constructed  of  aluminum  are  also  being  used  for  pack- 
ing butter. 

Packing  tubs,  boxes,  cubes  and  tins. — After  the  packages 

have  been  properly  treated  and  lined,  they  are  ready  for  the 
butter.  They  are  now  conveniently  arranged  in  a  row  in  front 
of  the  churn  and  the  butter  is  transferred  into  them  from  the 
churn.  Since  the  distribution  of  salt  and  moisture  in  the  butter 
is  seldom  entirely  uniform  in  all  parts  of  the  churn,  butter 
from  the  same  part  of  the  churn  should  be  distributed  into 
the  different  tubs,  boxes  or  cubes,  so  that  all  packages  receive1 
butter  from  all  parts  of  the  churn.  The  butter  should  not  be 
transferred  with  the  naked  hand.  The  skin  of  the  perspiring 
operator  should  not  touch  the  butter,  he  should  either  wear 
cotton  gloves  or  rubber  gloves,  or  use  ladles,  or  both.  Before 
using  the  ladles  and  packers  they  should  be  thoroughly  washed 
and  steamed  in  order  to  prevent  unnecessary  contamination  of 
the  butter  with  germ  life,  then  they  should  be  soaked  in  cold 
water  to  prevent  the  butter  from  sticking  to  them.  The  gloves 
should  be  clean  and  sweet-smelling,  and  when  taken  off  they 
should  be  placed  in  brine. 

It  is  important  that  the  butter  in  the  tub  be  packed  very 
solidly,  avoiding  air  pockets,  especially  between  the  butter  and 
the  sides  of  the  -package,  which  admit  air  and  favor  mold 
growth.  Pockets  in  the  body  of  the  butter  are  undesirable  also 
because  these  pockets  collect  the  brine,  cause  uneven  distribu- 
tion of  the  moisture,  uneven  color,  and  give  the  butter  a  leaky 
appearance.  The  package  should  be  filled  completely  full  and 
finished  neatly  on  the  surface.  This  is  best  done  by  filling  the 
tub  or  box  above  the  edge  of  the  wood,  tamping  thoroughly 
with  the  packer  and  cutting  off  the  surplus  with  a  taut  wire  or 
a  sharp  piece  of  wood — wood  is  preferable.  The  border  of  the 


PACKING  BUTTSR  375 

liner,  which  should  project  ajbout  one  inch,  is  then  neatly  folded 
over  toward  the  center  and  the  butter  is  covered  with  the  top 
circle,  preferably  of  cloth,  on  which  is  strewn  a  handful  of  clean, 
dry  salt.  The  tub  cover  is  then  fastened  down  with  3  to  5  tin 
fasteners,  or  in  case  of  the  box  the  lid  is  nailed  down  firmly. 
The  package  is  weighed  and  marked  with  the  net,  tare  and  gross 
weight  and  the  churning  number,  and  is  placed  in  the  refrigera- 
tor until  ready  for  shipment.  The  cold  room  should  be  clean, 
dry,  and  cold  enough  to  chill  and  harden  the  butter  before  ship- 
ping. When  ready  to  ship,  the  address  of  the  consignee  is  sten- 
cilled or  plainly  written  on  the  tub  cover. 

The  numbering  of  each  churning  and  the  placing  of  the 
churning  number  on  the  tub,  is  an  important  precautionary  meas- 
ure. It  tells  the  receiver  which  tubs  belong  to  the  same  churn- 
ing and  therefore  contain  the  same  kind  of  butter.  The  receiver 
is  able  thereby  to  supply  his  customers  with  butter  of  uniform 
quality,  salt  and  color.  In  case  the  butter  develops  defects  the 
receiver,  when  reporting  to  the  creamery,  is  in  a  position  to  re- 
fer to  the  respective  churning  number  as  marked  on  the  tub  and 
the  creamery  then  is  able  to  investigate  the  conditions  under 
which  that  particular  churning  was  made.  If  the  buttermaker 
keeps  a  full  and  systematic  churn  record,  as  he  should,  the  num- 
bering of  the  churnings  gives  him  an  opportunity  to  prevent 
recurrence  of  the  reported  defect. 

Butter  Prints. — Formerly  butter  was  retailed  direct  in  bulk 
packages,  such  as  tubs,  boxes  and  cubes.  At  the  present  time 
the  trend  is  toward  individual  or  consumer's  packages  in  the 
form  of  one,  two  and  five  pound  rolls,  and  one-quarter,  one-half, 
one,  two  and  five  pound  prints.  Much  of  the  butter  that  goes  to 
the  wholesale  trade  in  bulk  packages,  is  printed  by  the  wholesale 
receiver,  commission  man,  jobber,  or  butter  cutter  before  it 
reaches  the  retail  store.  In  most  of  these  cases  the  wholesale 
dealer  packs  the  butter  under  his  own  brand,  for  which  he  estab- 
lishes a  special  trade.  In  other  cases  the  retailer  uses  his  own 
special  brand  and  furnishes  the  wrappers  and  cartons  to  the 
creamery.  Some  wholesalers  handle  prints  put  up  by  the  cream- 
ery under  the  creamery's  brand,  in  which  case  they  pay  about 
one  cent  more  per  pound  than  in  bulk.  Most  of  the  butter  which 


376 


PACKING  BUTTER 


the  creamery  sells  direct  to  the  retail  store  is  sold  in  prints. 
During  the  fall  and  winter,  when  the  output  is  at  ebbtide,  many 
creameries  print  all  their  butter. 

The  individual  or  consumer's  packages  are  two  pound  prints 
or  rolls,  one  pound  prints,  one-half  pound  prints  and  bars  and 
one-quarter  pound  prints.  The  predominating  consumer's  pack- 


Fig-.  74.     Friday  Box 


Fig-.  73.     Friday  Printer 

Courtesy  J.  G.  Cherry  Co. 

age  is  the  one  pound  print  of  the  following  standard  dimensions : 
2y2  x  2^  x  4^i  inches,  wrapped  in  parchment,  or  wax  paper,  or 
both  and  slipped  into  a  carton.  Some  creameries  wrap  an 
additional  paper  around  the  carton  and  seal  it  at  both  ends. 
Considerable  quantities  of  butter  are  sold  in  one-half  pound 
and  one-quarter  pound  prints  wrapped  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  one  pound  prints  and  varying  in  shape  from  a  flat  slab 
to  a  so-called  hotel  bar.  In  New  England,  efforts  are  made 
to  establish  a  one  pound  print  having  twice  the  width,  half 
the  depth  and  the  same  length  as  the  standard  one  pound 
print.  Within  the  last  few  years  the  practice  of  putting  the  one 
pound  prints  up  in  the  form  of  four  one-quarter  pound  bars, 


PACKING  BUTTER  377 

each  wrapped  separately  in  parchment  paper,  has  found  much 
favor  as  a  means  to  accommodate  the  consumer  and  increase 
sales. 

In  accordance  with  the  Federal  Pure  Food  laws  all  individual 
or  consumer's  packages  must  be  marked  in  plain  and  legible 
letters  with  the  net  weight  of  the  contents.  Packages  weighing 
one  pound  or  over  must  have  the  net  weight  indicated  in  terms 
of  pounds,  packages  weighing  less  than  one  pound  must  have 
their  net  weight  indicated  in  terms  of  ounces. 

A  law  passed  by  the  New  York  State  Legislature  in  1912 
provides  for  the  following  tolerances  in  the  weight  of  print 
butter : 

"The  maximum  variation  allowed  on  a  pound  print  to  be 
three-eighths  of  an  ounce  on  an  individual  print,  provided  that 
the  average  error  of  twelve  prints,  taken  at  random,  shall  not 
be  over  one-fourth  of  an  ounce  per  pound.  The  maximum  varia- 
tion allowed  on  two-pound  prints  to  be  one-half  ounce,  provided 
that  the  shortage  on  twelve  prints,  taken  at  random,  be  not 
more  than  three-eighths  of  an  ounce  for  two  pounds. 

"Prints  that  are  not  of  one  pound  or  two  pounds  must  be 
marked  in  letters  at  least  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  height, 
giving  the  correct  weight  in  terms  of  ounces,  or  pounds  and 
ounces." 

Methods  of  Printing. — The  printing  of  butter  is  done  in 
various  ways.  Some  creameries  transfer  their  butter  from  the 
churn  to  a  table  from  which  it  is  printed  while  soft,  by  the  use 
of  one-pound  hand  molds,  or  by  the  use  of  a  mold  sunk  into  the 
table  and  worked  with  a  hand  lever.  In  some  European*  cream- 
eries the  soft  butter,  coming  from  the  churn  or  worker,  is  placed 
on  an  automatic,  revolving  printing  table.  This  table  is  equip- 
ped with  several  molds.  The  butter  is  piled  into  these  molds, 
which  pass  under  a  mechanical  plunger  that  tamps  it  into  the 
mold,  then  under  a  stationary  knife  that  removes  the  surplus 
butter,  after  which  the  finished  print  is  released.  Most  of  the 
American  creameries  pack  the  butter  from  the  churn  into  spe- 
cially made  crates,  boxes  or1  cubes,  set  it  in  the  cooler  over  night 
to  permit  the  butter  to  harden  and  then  cut  it  into  prints  by 
means  of  wire  cutters.  To  this  type  of  printers  belong  the 


3/8  BACKING 

Friday,  the  Low,  the  Simpson,  the  Miller  printers,  and  others. 
For  cutting  tub  butter  a  machine  that  utilizes  all  the  culls  is  most 
practical.  For  this  purpose  the  American  Butter  Cutter  is  used 
very  generally. 

When  printers  of  the  type  of  the  Friday  printers  are  used, 
it  is  advisable  to  line  the  boxes  with  parchment  before  packing. 
This  keeps  the  surface  of  the  butter  cleaner,  it  protects  it  against 
the  injurious  effect  of  contact  with  the  iron  parts  of  the  cubes, 
it  minimizes  the  amount  of  scraps  that  have  to  be  disposed  vof  at 
a  loss.  It  is  desirable  also  to  cover  each  Friday  cube,  after 
packing,  with  a  properly  fitting  cover. 


Pigf.   75.     C.   P.   Miller  Hydraulic   Cutter  for  Frozen   or   Otherwise 

Very  Firm  Butter 
Courtesy  L.  C.  Sharp  Mfg.  Co. 

The  cutting  of  the  butter  should  be  done  with  clean  taut 
wires,  free  from  rust.  Piano  steel  wire  is  used  for  this  purpose. 
For  the  good  of  the  flavor  of  the  prints,  tinned  wire  only  should 
be  used.  Any  butter  adhering  to  the  bare  steel  wire  soon  causes 
it  to  rust  and  the  action  on  the  metal  gives  the  butter  a  very 
disagreeable,  puckery,  metallic  flavor. 

The  mechanical  operation  of  the  butter  printer  should  be 
performed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  insure  prints  with  square 
corners  and  straight,  sharp  edges.  The  handling  of  the  prints 
should  not  be  done  with  bare  hands.  It  can  readily  be  done 
with  ladles  or  sticks.  The  operator  who  cuts  the  butter  and 
places  it  on  the  wrapping  table,  and  the  person  who  puts  the 
first  wrapper  around  the  print,  should  wear  clean  gloves,  prefer- 
ably freshly  laundered,  white  cotton  gloves.  The  printing  should 
be  done  in  a  clean,  cool  room,  screened  from  flies,  and  properly 
ventilated. 


PACKING  BUTTER  379 

In  order  to  insure  correct  weights,  each  print  should  be 
passed  over  an  accurate  scale.  No  matter  how  accurately  the 
wires  of  the  cutter  are  set,  they  yield  to  the  resistance  of  the 
butter  and  are  apt  to  stretch.  The  weighing  of  each  print  is  the 
only  reliable  guarantee  against  short  weights  and  overweights. 
Unsalted  butter  is  slightly  lighter  than  salted  butter,  so  that 
prints  of  unsalted  butter  must  be  very  slightly  larger  than  those 
of  salted  butter  in  order  to  weigh  the  same. 

The  wrapping  is  done  either  by  cheap  help,  boys  or  girls, 
or  by  wrapping  machines,  which  wrap  the  butter,  place  it  in 
cartons,  and  wrap  and  seal  the  cartons  with  great  rapidity  and 
precision.  The  first  wrapper  should  be  a  parchment  wrapper. 
This  should  be  treated  in  a  similar  manner  as  the  tub  liners. 
For  maximum  convenience  a  wooden  box  about  20  inches  long 
and  with  an  inside  width  slightly  greater  than  the  width  of  the 
one  pound  parchment  wrapper  may  be  used.  This  box  may  be 
installed  in  a  convenient  place  in  the  print  room,  it  should' 
have  an  overflow  and  be  connected  with  the  steam  and  water 
line.  While  the  print  room  is  in  operation  this  box  is  kept  full 
of  boiling  hot  brine,  containing  enough  salt,  so  that  there  is 
always  a  visible  deposit  of  undissolved  salt  in  the  bottom.  A 
little  steam  should  run  into  this  brine  continually,  so  as  to  keep 
the  brine  at  boiling  heat. 

For  suspending  the  parchment  wrappers  in  the  brine, 
wooden  clamps  of  sufficient  length  may  be  used.  A  bunch 
of  wrappers  is  fastened  into  the  clamps,  the  clamps  are  placed 
across  the  box  and  the  wrappers  swing  and  soak  in  the 
brine.  In  this  manner  all  but  the  top  inch  of  the  wrappers  is 
soaked.  It  is  not  desirable  to  wet  the  entire  wrapper  because  the 
sheets  then  stick  to  one  another  and  delay  the  work  of  wrapping. 
The  wrappers  should  be  soaked  in  the  boiling  hot  brine  for  at 
least  5  minutes  and  the  brine  should  be  renewed  at  least  once  each 
day.  The  same  treatment  may  be  given  wrappers"  used  for 
unsalted  butter. 

High  grade  parchment  wrappers,  properly  parchmented  and 
free  from  all  kinds  of  specks,  are  the  most  economical.  Parch- 
ment wrappers  frequently  contain  very  minute  specks  of  metallic 
lustre.  Microchemical  examination  of  these  specks  shows  that 


380  PACKING  BUTTER 

they  consist  of  copper  or  of  some  alloy  containing  copper  such 
as  brass  or  german  silver.  These  metal  specks  are  acted  upon 
by  the  salt  and  acid  in  the  butter.  Gradually  a  green  spot  or 
circle  forms  on  the  wrapper  and  on  the  butter  at  the  point  of 
contact,  showing  verdigris,  giving  the  butter  an  unsightly  and 
suspicions  appearance,  and  actually  rendering  it  unwholesome. 


Fig*.  76.    Unit  of  Peters  Package  Machinery 

This  machine  forms  and  lines  the  carton,   folds  the  wrapper  and  closes 
the  carton,  and  wraps  and  labels  the  carton.     Courtesy  Peters  Machinery  Co. 

Such  butter  is  usually  rejected  by  the  consumer.  With  pro- 
longed age  the  action  of  these  metallic  specks  bleaches  the  entire 
print  and  gives  it  a  rank  tallowy  flavor  and  odor.  Parchment 
wrappers  used  for  butter  should  be  free  from  these  metallic 
impurities. 

The  second  wrapper  is  a  wax  paper.  It  consists  of  paper 
coated  on  both  sides  with  a  thin  film  of  paraffine,  the  paper 
having  been  passed  through  a  paraffine  bath.  The  wax  paper 
wrapper  furnishes  additional  protection  against  evaporation  and 
against  the  deteriorating  action  of  air.  Experimental  trials  and 
commercial  experience  have  demonstrated  that  butter  actually 
does  keep  better,  especially  is  the  flavor  on  the  outside  of  the 
print  preserved,  by  the  double  wrapper. 


PACKING  BUTTER  381 

The  wrapped  print  is  slipped  into  a  carton.  If  the  carton 
is  the  final  enclosure,  it  is  usually  of  high  quality  stock,  paraf- 
fined, and  bears  the  name  and  trade  mark  of  the  creamery. 
Creameries  placing  a  special  wrapper  on  the  outside  of  the 
carton,  generally  use  a  cheaper  grade,  plain  carton,  and  have 
their  name  and  trade  mark  placed  on  this  outside  wrapper. 
Occasionally  also  printed  matter  with  information  for  the  con- 
sumer concerning  the  quality  of  the  butter,  also  premium  labels, 
etc.,  are  slipped  into  the  carton. 

Packing  in  Boxes. — The  prints,  wrapped  and  placed  in 
cartons,  are  packed  into  wooden  or  fibre  boxes,  usually  holding 
from  10  to  50  one  pound  prints.  Some  of  the  larger  creameries 
have  their  name  and  trade  mark  stencilled  or  burnt  onto  the 
ends  of  the  box.  This  adds  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  package 
and  advertises  the  brand.  Of  recent  years,  carton  or  fibre  boxes 
have  come  into  extensive  use  for  packing  and  shipping  prints. 

The  chief  virtue  of  the  fibre  boxes  lies  in  their  relative 
cheapness,  averaging  at  least  five  cents  less  per  box.  They  are 
used  to  good  advantage  for  local  shipments  of  print  butter  and 
especially  during  the  cold  season.  For  long  distance  shipments 
of  print  butter  and  particularly  during  the  hot  summer  season, 
corrugated  fibre  boxes  and  similar  paper  boxes  are  less  suitable. 
Under  these  conditions  the  boxes  often  become  soaked  with  the 
brine  of  the  butter  and  thus  suffer  seriously  in  transit.  The 
reason  for  this  is  that  corrugated  fibre  boxes  are  not  as  rigid 
as  wooden  boxes;  in  summer,  due  to  the  heat,  the  butter  is  soft 
and  the  rough  handling  to  which  these  boxes  are  subjected, 
causes  this  soft  butter  to  become  mutilated ;  this  in  turn  results 
in  the  expulsion  of  a  portion  of  the  brine  of  the  butter,  which 
soaks  through  the  carton  of  these  boxes.  Grocery  stores  often 
also  object  to  the  fibre  boxes,  because  these  boxes  are  not  as 
serviceable  and  convenient  to  use  in  the  store  and  on  the  delivery 
wagon  as  wooden  boxes. 

Most  of  the  wooden  boxes  for  print  butter  are  made  of 
poplar,  hemlock  or  spruce.  The  majority  of  these  are  bought 
in  the  knock-down  shape  and .  are  made  up  in  the  creamery. 
Four-penny  cement-coated  wire  nails  are  best  suited  for  assem- 
bling the  sides,  ends,  bottom  and  top.  The  most  perfect  boxes 


382  PACKING  BUTTER 

are  tongued  and  grooved,  but  their  greater  expense  causes  their 
use  to  be  limited.  The  usual  weight -of  the  lumber  used  for 
wooden  boxes  is  one-half  inch  for  the  sides,  top  and  bottom 
and  three-fourths  inch  for  the  ends.  For  large  creameries  the 
assembling  of  the  boxes  by  the  use  of  nailing  machines  is 
most  economical.  Of  late,  wire-bound  boxes  have  come  into 
use  for  packing  and  shipping  prints.  These  boxes,  while 
they  are  light,  are  stronger  than  the  nailed  boxes,  their  initial 
cost  is  slightly  lower  and  the  expense  of  assembling  them  is 
smaller,  requiring  less  labor  and  fewer  and  smaller  nails. 
Wire-bound  boxes  have  the  further  advantage  that  they  are 
practically  burglar  proof,  avoiding  loss  of  prints  due  to  removal 
in  transit.  The  correct  size  of  boxes  for  standard  size  one  pound 
prints  is  13  x  13  x  10  inches  for  50  pound  boxes. 

Too  little  attention  has  been  paid  by  many  creameries  to 
the  quality  and  neatness  of  these  shipping  boxes  and  to  the 
manner  of  packing  itself.  Poor  material,  shiftless  nailing  and 
the  use  of  second  hand  boxes  should  be  avoided.  The  boxes 
should  be  of  the  proper  size,  so  that  they  can  be  filled  full  with 
prints.  The  packing  of  10  prints  into  a  thirty  pound  box  and 
filling  in  with  diverse  refuse  material,  such  as  paper,  straw,  etc., 
is  a  poor  policy  which  often  results  in  mutilation  of  the  prints 
and  unsightly  appearance.  Too  large  boxes  also  involve  exces- 
sive expense  of  transportation.  Most  boxes  see  rough  handling 
in  transit  and  unless  they  are  strongly  constructed  and  properly 
packed  they  are  apt  to  reach  their  destination  in  damaged  con- 
dition. This  is  especially  the  case  with  long-distance  shipments 
and  with  export  shipments.  ' 

Advantage  of  Selling  in  Consumer's  Packages. — It  is  obvious 
that  the  expense  of  the  package  and  of  packing  is  greater  in  the 
case  of  prints  than  in  the  case  of  tubs,  boxes  or  cubes.  The 
difference  in  cost,  including  package  and  labor,  averages  from 
one-half  to  one  and  one-half  cent.  This  extra  expense  is  borne 
by  the  consumer;  print  butter  averages  usually  about  one  cent 
more  than  tub  butter,  at  the  sales  end.  The  consumer's  package 
has  several  distinct  advantages.  The  butter  when  sealed  in 
the  consumer's  package  at  the  creamery  or  in  the  wholesale  deal- 
er's establishment,  is  effectively  protected  against  further  agencies 


PACKING  BUTTER  383 

of  contamination  and  deterioration.  The  package  is  opened  only 
by  the  consumer;  and  usually  reaches  him  therefore  in  more 
satisfactory  condition.  The  individual  package  is  the  most  con- 
venient form  for  distribution  through  the  retailer's  stores  and 
for  use  by  the  consumer.  The  butter  is  protected  against  agen- 
cies of  deterioration  such  as  light,  air  and  rapid  changes  in 
temperature,  after  it  reaches  the  consumer.  Butter  bearing  the 
trade  mark  of  the  manufacturer  or  dealer,  as  is  the  case  with 
butter  sold  in  the  individual  package,  serves  as  an  effective 
advertising  means.  If  the  butter  is  of  uniformly  acceptable 
quality,  the  consumer  soon  becomes  familiar  with  that  particular 
brand  and  will  assume  the  habit  of  calling  for  that  brand.  In 
the  case  of  occasional  batches  of  low  grade  butter  it  is  advisable 
to  use  either  a  plain  wrapper  or  a  special  brand  reserved  for 
second  grade  butter  only,  in  order  not  to  jeopardize  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  established  brand. 

Packing  Farm  Butter. — Butter  made  on  the  farm  is  put  on 
the  market  in  diverse  packages.  Butter  that  goes  to  the  country 
store  is  usually  packed  in  crocks,  but  considerable  butter  reaches 
the  store  also  in  the  form  of  rolls.  Crocks  have  the  advantage 
that  they  protect  the  butter  against  abrupt  temperature  changes. 
If  the  crock  is  well  glazed  on  the  inside,  it  is  fairly  sanitary. 
Poorly  glazed  crocks  are  porous.  The  pores  fill  with  grease  and 
curd  which  are  not  removed  by  ordinary  methods  of  washing  and 
which  cause  the  crock  to  become  foul-smelling  and  to  serve  as 
a  constant  source  of  contamination  with  agencies  detrimental 
to  the  quality  of  the  butter.  The  crock  is  objectionable  also 
because  of  its  weight  and  its  frailty. 

Some  farm  butter  is  put  up  in  rolls  weighing  1,  2  or  5 
pounds  and  usually  wrapped  in  parchment.  Fancy  or  individual 
molds  are  also  quite  popular.  The  tendency,  however,  is  to  print 
the  butter  into  standard  size  one  pound  prints  and  put  them  on 
the  market  wrapped  in  parchment  and  packed  in  cartons.  The 
standard  size  print  is,  all  things  considered,  probably  the  most 
desirable  type  of  package  for  farm  butter,  especially  when  sold 
direct  to  residences,  etc.  The  farmer  who  sells  butter,  in  prints, 
wrapped  in  parchments  and  cartons  bearing  his  name  and  trade 
mark  is  in  a  position  to  create  a  permanent  call  for  it,  provided 


384  PACKING  BUTTER 

that  the  butter  is  of  good  quality  and  uniform  flavor,  salt,  and 
color,  while  butter  sold  in  crocks,  carton  boxes,  pails,  etc.,  loses 
its  identity  when  it  leaves  the  farm  and  before  it  reaches  the 
consumer.  In  the  choice  of  cartons  for  the  prints,  paper  cartons 
should  be  given  preference  over  wooden  cartons.  Wooden  car- 
tons such  as  are  frequently  used,  lend  the  butter  a  woody  flavor 
which  is  objectionable. 

Packing  for  Parcel  Post  Shipments. — Farm  butter  or  cream- 
ery butter,  to  be  shipped  by  parcel  post,  is  best  put  up  in  pound 
prints,  wrapped  in  water-proof  parchment  and  sealed  in  paraf- 
fined cartons.  The  cartons  are  best  inserted  into  corrugated 
pasteboard  containers  suitable  for  accommodating  the  different 
amounts  to  be  shipped,  and  wrapped  with  good  wrapping  paper. 
Brand1  of  the  U.  S.. Department  of  Agriculture,  Office  of  Markets, 
conducted  an  extensive  study  of  the  possibilities  and  limitations 
of  shipping  butter  by  parcel  post.  This  investigation  showed 
that  under  ordinary  weather  conditions  practically  no  difficulty 
was  experienced.  The  chief  problem  in  shipping  butter  by  parcel 
post  is  to  prevent  the  butter  from  melting,  mere  softening  did 
not  prove  injurious.  While  the  difficulty  is  somewhat  greater 
in  summer  than  in  winter,  the  fact  that  mail  cars  must  be  heated 
in  winter,  does  not  entirely  remove  the  danger  of  overheating 
the  butter  during  cold  weather.  Brand  points  out,  however,  that 
the  regulations  of  the  Post  Office  Department  on  this  subject 
are  of  such  a  nature  that  it  is  possible  to  obviate  this  trouble  to 
a  considerable  extent  in  cold  weather  by  marking  butter  parcels 
as  follows :  "Perishable — Keep  away  from  heating  apparatus/' 

He  further  offers  the  suggestions  that  over  ordinary  dis- 
tances and  under  average  conditions  butter  wrapped  as  above 
directed,  can  be  shipped  without  deterioration ;  that  it  should 
always  be  chilled  before  shipment  and  chilled  again  immediately 
upon  receipt  by  the  consumer ;  that  it  should  be  dispatched  with, 
attention  to  the  mail  schedule  so  that  it  will  be  on  the  road  as 
short  a  time  as  possible,  and  that  shipments  preferably  should 
be  timed  to  make  the  greater  part  of  their  journey  at  night,  when 
temperatures  are  materially  lower  than  during  the  day. 

One  of  the  obstacles  that  has  retarded  the  development  of 


1  Brand,  "Marketing  by  Parcel  Post."     U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  Farmers' 
Bulletin  611,  1914,  pp.  16  to  21. 


PACKING  BUTTER  385 

parcel  post  shipment  of  farm  butter  and  similar  farm  produce 
has  been  the  unfortunate  tendency  of  some  farmers  to  ask  prices 
far  above  those  current  in  their  own  rural  localities  and  higher 
than  those  charged  by  fancy  retail  stores  of  the  cities  for  butter 
of  the  same  grade.  It  is  obvious  that  the  consumer  will  refuse 
to  look  to  the  parcel  post  service  as  a  practical  and  desirable 
means  to  secure  his  butter,  as  long  as  he  is  unable  to  buy  it 
through  this  channel  at  prices  that  are  no  higher  than  those 
which  he  is  charged  at  the  store. 

Packing  Butter  for  Exhibits  and  Scoring  Contests. — When 
preparing  butter  for  exhibits  and  scoring  contests  neatness, 
attractiveness  and  protection  against  high  temperature  are  of 
chief  importance.  For  exhibits  proper,  butter  may  be  used  for 
diverse  designs,  representing  certain  objects,  or  it  may  be  put  up 
in  neat  commercial  packages,  attractively  grouped  and  arranged. 
For  scoring  contests,  where  the  chief  object  is  score  on  the  quality 
basis,  the  twenty  pound  white  ash  tub  is  the  most  suitable  pack- 
age. It  is  large  enough  for  all  practical  purposes  of  scoring  and 
sampling  for  analysis,  and  it  is  small  enough  to  avoid  unneces- 
sary sacrifice  of  butter  and  excessive  transportation  charges. 
Scoring  contest  butter  is  usually  not  returned  to  the  maker  after 
the  contest.  In  most  cases  it  is  sold  and  the  returns  are  used 
towards  defraying  the  expense  of  the  scoring,  in  which  case  the 
entire  package  is  lost  to  the  creamery.  In  other  instances  the 
returns  sre  pro-rated  among  the  contestants  according  to  the 
pounds  of  butter  entered,  in  many  cases  the  creamery  gets 
something  back  for  its  butter,  though  the  price  received  for  the 
butter  after  scoring,  is  usually  very  low,  due  to  the  damaged 
condition  of  the  goods.  The  twenty  pound  tub  is  desirable  also 
because  it  can  be  conveniently  packed  into  a  sixty  pound  tub 
for  shipment. 

In  putting  up  the  scoring  contest  butter  a  perfect  tub  should 
be  selected.  This  should  be  treated  in  the  usual  way,  steamed, 
paraffined  and  neatly  lined  with  brine-soaked  parchment  circles 
and  liners.  The  butter  should  be  packed  into  it  very  firmly  with 
sterile  and  cooled  ladles  and  packers  and  in  a  clean,  cool  room. 
The  packing  should  be  finished  in  the  neatest  possible  way. 
After  cutting  the  surplus  butter  off  the  top  so  as  to  leave  a 


386  PACKING  BUTTER 

perfectly  level  and  smooth  surface,  the  liner  extending  one  inch 
above  the  edge  of  the  tub  is  carefully  folded  over  the  butter  with 
clean  hands,  a  clean  cloth  circle  is  placed  on  top  and  on  this  is 
sprinkled  a  little  clean  dry  salt,  evenly  distributed.  After  the 
lid  is  put  on  the  tub,  the  outside  of  the  tub  should  be  sand- 
papered until  it  is  perfectly  smooth  and  clean.  Then  the  Hd  is 
neatly  fastened  down  to  the  tub  with  three  to  five  standard 
fasteners. 

The  twenty  pound  tub  is  then  dropped  into  a  sixty  pound 
tub  and  clean  paper,  clean  shavings,  excelsior,  sawdust  or  other 
insulating  material,  is  solidly  packed  between  the  inside  and 
outside  tub,  bottom,  sides  and  top.  It  is  advisable  to  place  the 
60  pound  tub  and  the  packing  material  into  the  creamery  cold 
room  several  days  before  use,  so  as  to  thoroughly  chill  them. 
The  lid  is  then  fastened  to  the  sixty  pound  tub,  it  is  tagged  with 
the  name  and  address  of  the  maker  and  the  addressee.  Then  it 
is  best  set  into  the  cold  room  for  twenty-four  hours  before  ship- 
ping, in  order  to  harden  the  butter. 

Butter  put  up  as  above  directed  will  reach  its  destination  at 
any  reasonable  distance  in  good  and  attractive  condition.  The 
cold  packing  around  the  inside  tub  furnishes  a  splendid  insula- 
tion, guarding  against  rapid  warming  up,  which  would  prove 
detrimental  to  the  delicate  flavor  of  the  butter  and  disadvan- 
tageous to  the  buttermaker's  chances  of  success  in  the  contest. 
Some  buttermakers  fill  the  space  between  the  two  tubs  with 
crushed  ice.  This  is  unsatisfactory  because  it  detracts  from  the 
neatness  of  the  exhibition  tub.  Also  the  ice  generally  melts  in 
transit  and  if  the  tub  is  put  in  cold  storage  before  scoring,  as 
is  usually  the  case,  the  water  between  the  two  tubs  will  freeze 
into  a  solid  mass,  converting  the  entire  package  into  one  insep- 
arable unit.  The  only  means  to  get  the  inside  tub  out  in  such 
a  case  is  to  chop  off  the  staves  of  the  outside  tub  with  an  ax. 
If  the  butter  judge  has  to  attend  to  the  unpacking  himself  these 
difficulties  may  have  an  unfavorable,  though  entirely  uncon- 
scious, effect  on  the  score  of  the  troublesome  tub.  Aside  from 
these  objections  melted  ice  is  a  good  conductor  of  heat  and 
therefore  makes  very  poor  insulation,  while  sawdust,  paper, 
wood  shavings,  etc.,  hold  cold  very  efficiently. 


PACKING  BUTTER 


387 


Loss  of  Moisture  in  Packing. — When  butter  is  packed  into 
tubs  and  boxes  some  moisture  is  lost,  as  a  certain  amount  of 
water  is  thereby  pounded  out  of  the  butter.  A  small  additional 
loss  of  moisture  further  occurs  in  the  cutting  and  printing  of  the 
butter.  The  average  loss  of  moisture  due  to  packing  of  619 
different  churnings  of  butter  at  the  Purdue  University  Creamery 
is  shown  in  the  following  table : 

1  Table  58. — Showing  Difference  of  Moisture  Content  Between 
Churn  and  Box  Samples — Averages  Grouped  According  to 
Season  of  Year. 


Year 

Loss  of  Moisture  Due  to  Packing  from  Churn  to  Friday  Box 

April,  May 
and  June 
%  Moisture 

July,  August 
and  September 
%  Moisture 

October, 
November  and 
December 
%  Moisture 

January, 
February  and 
March 
%  Moisture 

1907-8 
1908-9 
1909-10 
1910-11 

.27 
.50 
.52 
.49 

.57 
.89 
.61 
.44 

.40 
1.04 
.61 
1.04 

1.45 
.82 
.90 
1.58 

Averages 

.44 

.63 

.77 

1.18 

The  least  difference  between  the  churn  and  box  samples  was 
shown  in  April,  May  and  June.  The  difference  increased  grad- 
ually and  was  highest  in  January,  February  and  March,  when  it 
averaged  over  1  per  cent. 

This  gradual  increase  of  the  loss  of  moisture,  due  to  pack- 
ing, from  early  summer  to  spring  is  interesting.  It  suggests 
that  it  is  the  result  of  the  increasing  firmness  of  the  butter 
during  the  same  time.  The  winter  butter  is  firmer  than  the 
summer  butter,  more  pounding  is  required  in  packing  firm  butter 
than  in  the  case  of  soft  butter. 

The  loss  of  moisture  by  packing  varies  considerably  with 
individual  churnings.  It  depends  on  how  well  the  moisture  is 
incorporated.  Leaky  butter  may  lose  several  per  cent,  of  mois- 

1  These  figures  represent  the  differences  between  the  churn  samples  and 
the  tub  or  box  samples.  In  every  case  the  churn  samples  contained  more 
moisture  than  the  tub  or  box  samples. 

1  Hunziker,  Mills  &  Spitzer,  Moisture  Control  of  Butter,  Purdue  Bulletin, 
160,  1912. 


388 


PACKING  BUTTER 


ture  during  packing.  Under  all  normal  conditions  the  butter- : 
maker  may  expect  a  loss  of  at  least  4  per  cent  moisture  due  to 
packing  from  the  churn  into  the  tub  or  box. 

Table  59. — Moisture  Content  of  Butter  Before  and  After  Print- 
ing with  Friday  Printer.  The  Samples  Were  Taken  from 
Friday  Cubes  in  the  Cooler  and  Again  from  Prints  of  the 
Same  Cubes  after  Wrapping.  The  Weight  of  All  Prints 
Was  One  Pound,  Each.  Each  Lot  of  Butter  Represents  a 
Different  Churning. 


Percent  Moisture 

Lots 

of 

Before  Printing 

After  Printing 

Butter 

Average 

A 

B 

Average 

A 

B 

Average 

Loss 

1 

15.8 

15.9 

15.85 

15.4 

15.9 

15.65 

.20 

2 

15.3 

15.3 

15.30 

14.8 

14.8 

14.80 

.50 

3 

15.8 

15.9 

15.85 

15.9 

15.9 

15.90 

+  .05 

4 

15.4 

15.1 

15.25 

15.4 

15.4 

15.40 

+  .15 

5 

15.6 

15.7 

15.65 

15.7 

15.5 

15.60 

.05 

6 

15.1 

15.1 

15.10 

15.4 

15.2 

15.30 

+  .20 

7 

15.9 

15.9 

15.90 

15.8 

15.9 

15.85 

.05 

8 

15.7 

15.8 

15.75 

15.7 

15.7 

15.70 

.05 

9 

15.7 

15.9 

15.80 

15.6 

15.7 

15.65 

.15 

10 

15.3 

15.3 

15.30 

15.3 

15.1 

15.20 

.10 

Average 

15.58 

15.51 

.07 

The  loss  of  moisture  that  occurs  during  the  process  of 
printing  obviously  depends,  aside  from  the  completeness  of 
moisture  incorporation,  on  the  method  of  printing  employed  and 
the  firmness  of  the  butter.  Butter  that  is  printed  direct  from  the 
churn  with  the  hand  mold,  while  it  is  still  soft,  is  not  prone  to 
lose  much  moisture.  Butter  that  is  packed  in  cubes  or  crates, 
which  are  subsequently  placed  in  the  cold  room  over  night  and 
then  printed  by  simply  cutting  it  with  wires,  as  is  the  case  with 
the  Friday  printer,  also  suffers  but  very  little  loss  of  moisture. 
This  is  readily  shown  by  the  following  analyses  of  butter  before 
and  after  printing: 

In  the  case  of  tub  butter  that  has  been  allowed  to  harden 
and  is  subsequently  stripped  and  printed  by  the  use  of  the  Amer- 


PACKING  BUTTER 


389 


ican  Butter  Cutter,  the  loss  is  obviously  considerably  greater, 
amounting  to  several  tenths  per  cent.  In  this  case  the  butter  is 
not  only  cut,  but  considerably  mutilated  while  it  passes  through 
the  cutter,  as  shown  in  the  following  table  which  represents 
eighteen  different  lots  of  tub  butter  bought  on  the  open  market : 

Table  60. — Moisture  Content  of  Butter  Before  and  After  Run- 
ning it  Through  the  American  Printer.  The  Samples  Were 
Taken  from  the  Stripped  Tubs  Before  Cutting  and  Again 
from  the  Prints  Made  from  the  Butter 


Percent  Moisture 

Tub  Numbers 

From  Tubs 

From  Prints 

Loss 

1 

15.3 

15.2 

.10 

2 

14.3 

14.0 

.30 

3 

14.9 

14.8 

.10 

4 

16.1 

15.9 

.20 

5 

16.0 

15.6 

.40 

6 

16.0 

15.6 

.40 

7 

14.9 

14.6 

.30 

8 

15.2 

14.7 

.50 

9 

14.6 

14.5 

.10 

10 

16.2 

15.9 

.30 

11 

15.9 

15.9 

.00 

12 

15.8 

15.4 

.40 

13 

15.4 

15.3 

.10 

14 

15.4 

15.2 

.20 

15 

15.3 

15.0 

.30 

16 

15.4 

15.1 

.30 

17 

15.9 

15.6 

.30 

18 

15.1 

14.9 

.20 

Average 

15.43 

15.18 

.25 

Cost  of  Packing. — The  cost  of  packing  butter  varies  largely 
with  the  cost  of  the  package  and  the  expense  of  labor.  Prints 
are  a  more  expensive  package  than  tubs,  boxes  and  cubes.  The 
quality  of  wrappers,  cartons  and  shipping  boxes  used  and  the 
elaborateness  of  the  design  on  them  further  influence  the  expense 
of  the  package.  The  quantity  in  which  the  package  is  bought 
also  affects  its  cost.  In  car  load  lots  larger  rebates,  both  in  the 
price  of  the  package  and  in  the  freight  rates,  may  be  secured. 


390  PACKING  BUTTER 

This  difference  naturally  operates  in  favor  of  the  large  creamery 
and  against  the  small  creamery  with  limited  operating  capital. 
The  use  of  machines  for  printing,  wrapping  and  sealing  the 
butter  and  for  mailing  the  boxes  reduces  the  help  needed  for 
labor.  In  the  large  creamery  this  work  can  be  done  by  the 
cheapest  kind  of  help,  by  young  boys  and  girls,  for  there  is 
enough  work  to  be  done  to  furnish  steady  employment  for  this 
kind  of  help.  In  the  small  creamery  where  the  printing  and 
wrapping  occupies  only  a  part  of  one  person's  time,  the  creamery 
usually  cannot  secure  special  cheap  help  for  this  work  and  it  is 
done  by  the  more  High-priced  help,  the  buttermaker  or  his 
helper. 

The  cost  of  putting  up  one-half  pound  prints  in  separate 
cartons  is  about  one-third  higher  per  pound  and  the  cost  of 
putting  up  one-quarter  pound  prints  in  separate  cartons  is  about 
twice  as  high  per  pound  of  butter  as  the  cost  of  putting  up  one 
pound  prints.  The  cost  of  putting  up  one-half  pound  prints  and 
one-quarter  pound  prints  in  one  pound  cartons  is  about  one-fifth 
and  one-fourth,  respectively,  higher  than  the  cost  of  putting  up 
one  pound  prints. 

Cost  of  Packing  Butter  in  Tins. — Two  sizes  of  tins  for 
packing  butter  are  accepted  as  standard  tins  by  the  United 
States  Navy,  the  net  5  pound  tin  and  the  net  6  pound  6  ounce 
tin.  The  5  pound  tins  are  packed  in  boxes  holding  16  tins,  the 
6  pound  6  ounce  tins  are  packed  in  boxes  holding  12  tins.  In 
May,  1918,  the  cost  of  the  package  (5  pound  tins),  including 
tins,  boxes,  corrugated  paper  liners  and  strap  iron,  was  about 
$2.44  per  1000  tins  or  about  3  cents  per  pound  of  butter.  To  this 
should  be  added  the  cost  of  nails  and  labels  which  amounts  to 
less  than  .05  of  one  cent.  The  labor,  when  large  quantities  of 
butter  are  tinned,  is  but  very  slightly  more  than  that  of  printing 
and  wrapping  butter,  but  for  average  conditions  it  should  be 
placed  at  one-half  to  three-quarters  of  one  cent  per  pound.  This 
then,  would  make  the  total  cost  of  packing  butter  in  tins  about 
3 1  cents  per  pound. 

It  is  customary  for  the  manufacturers  of  tin  cans  to  loan 
to  the  creamery  a  sealing  machine,  for  closing  the  cans  after 
they  are  packed.  The  rental  basis  is  usually  about  $25  per  year 


PACKING  BUTTER  FOR  U.  S.  NAVY  391 

plus  the  freight  on  the  machine  both  ways  and  plus  an  insur- 
ance premium  of  about  $3.50  per  year  on  the  value  of  the 
machine. 

These  prices  and  terms  are  naturally  subject  to  changes. 
They  prevailed  in  the  spring  of  1918. 

GENERAL  DIRECTIONS  FOR  PACKING  BUTTER 
FOR  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY. 

Tinned  and  Tub  or  Cube  Butter— Quality. 

"Shall  be  fresh  butter,  made  from  fresh  pasteurized  cream 
(held  at  a  temperature  of  145°  F.  for  25  minutes,  or  at  176°  F. 
for  an  instant),  none  of  which  shall  at  any  time  contain  more 
than  0.27  per  cent  of  acid,  calculated  as  lactic  acid,  for  butter 
scoring  94,  or  0.234  per  cent  for  butter  scoring  95  (or  more  acid 
in  50  c.  c.  of  cream  than  will  be  neutralized  by  15  c.  c.  of  N/10 
alkali  solution  for  butter  scoring  94,  or  13  c.  c.  for  butter  scoring 
95)  ;  nor  shall  the  cream  contain  more  than  35  per  cent  butter  fat. 

"Shall  be  strictly  of  the  highest  grade  of  creamery  butter,  at 
least  two-thirds  of  which  must  score  not  less  than  95  and  the 
rest  not  less  than  94  when  made. 

"Moisture  in  the  finished  product  at  time  of  packing  must  not 
exceed  13*/2  per  cent  for  tinned  butter  and  14  per  cent  for  tub 
or  cube  butter.  There  must  be  no  preservative  used  other  than 
common  salt,  and  that  shall  be  at  a  rate  giving  not  less  than 
2y2  per  cent  or  more  than  3^4  per  cent  salt  in  the  finished 
product  at  time  of  packing. 

Inspection  and  Tests. 

"The  ingredients,  manufacture,  sanitation,  packing,  boxing, 
marking,  and  shipping  of  the  butter  shall  be  subject  to  inspec- 
tion by  Government  inspectors,  who  shall  have  full  authority 
to  reject  any  package  or  lot  of  milk,  cream,  or  finished  butter, 
and  to  enforce  compliance  with  the  requirements  of  these  speci- 
fications as  well  as  to  demand  first-class  work  in  every  particular. 

"The  Government  inspector  shall  make  all  the  necessary  tests 
to  determine  that  the  acid  in  the  milk  or  cream  and  the  salt  and 
moisture  contents  in  the  butter  are  within  the  limits  specified. 


392  PACKING  BUTTER  FOR  U.  S.  NAVY 

"At  the  option  of  the  Bureau  of  Supplies  and  Accounts,  the 
contractor  or  his  agents  may,  however,  be  required  to  make  all 
the  tests  necessary  to  determine  that  the  acid  in  the  milk  or 
cream  and  the  salt  and  water  contents  of  the  butter  are  within 
the  limits  specified,  and  all  such  tests  made  by  the  contractor 
or  his  agents  shall  be  subject  to  supervision,  verification,  and 
approval  by  Government  inspectors. 

Containers — Tinned  Butter. 

"Tins. — Tins  to  be  made  of  prime  coke  plate  weighing  not  less 
than  90  pounds  per  box  of  112  sheets,  size  14  inches  by  20  inches. 
Side  seams  to  be  of  either  lock  or  lap  type  and  soldered  on  out- 
side only.  Top  and  bottom  ends  to  be  lined  with  sanitary  lining 
compound  of  suitable  gasket  before  being  double-seamed  on. 

"Tops  and  bottoms  to  be  completely  covered  on  the  inside 
and  outside  with  processed  lacquer  so  that  there  will  be  no  un- 
tinned  edges  exposed  on  the  inside  of  the  can.  Inside  and  outside 
of  cans,  tops,  bottoms  and  sides,  except  necessary  margin  for 
soldering  side  seams,  to  be  lacquered  before  plate  is  manufac- 
tured into  the  finished  container,  with  processed  lacquer,  which 
is  to  be  baked  on  at  a  temperature  of  approximately  380°  F. 
The  unlacquered  margin  of  side  seam  to  be  covered  with  air- 
drying  lacquer  after  can  is  finished. 

"Two  sizes  of  tins  will  be  acceptable,  viz.,  tins  containing  5 
pounds  net  weight,  as  used  heretofore,  and  standard  No.  10 
sanitary  type  tins  containing  approximately  6  pounds  6  ounces. 

"The  tins  must  be  packed  completely  full,  leaving  no  air 
space.  Net  weight  only  to  be  paid  for. 

"Packing. — The  butter  must  be  packed  in  thoroughly  clean 
tins,  and  the  tins  fully  sealed  and  marked  immediately  as  di- 
rected, the  creamery  where  the  butter  is  made,  the  butter  to  be 
packed  within  two  hours  after  the  time  of  churning. 

"Sealing. — Each  tin  must  be  hermetically  sealed  by  mechan- 
ical process,  without  the  use  of  solder. 

"Cases. — The  cases  shall  be  made  of  well-seasoned  lumber, 
planed  on  outside;  tops,  bottoms,  and  sides  to  be  not  less  than 
full  y2  inch  and  ends  not  less  than  full  ^f  inch  thick  when 
finished.  To  be  securely  nailed  and  strapped  with  J^-inch  flat 


PACKING  BUTTER  FOR  U.  S.  NAVY  393 

iron.  On  each  case  shall  be  plainly  stenciled  or  stamped  the 
actual  net  weight  of  butter  contained  therein,  the  score,  name 
of  contractor,  brand  (optional  with  contractor),  number  of  con- 
tract, and  date  of  packing;  cases  shall  be  free  from  all  other 
marks,  except  such  as  may  be  placed  thereon  by  the  Government 
inspector.  Five-pound  tins  are  to  be  packed  16  to  the  case,  and 
No.  10  tins  12  to  the  case.  Each  tin  must  be  plainly  marked 

" pounds  net  ....  butter,"  name  of  contractor,  and  date 

of  packing,  and  shall  be  carefully  wrapped  in  paper  and  packed 
in  sawdust;  the  cases  shall  be  completely  filled  with  sawdust. 
Suitable  corrugated  paper  liners  and  paper  fillers  may  be  used 
in  lieu  of  sawdust,  in  which  case  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  wrap 
each  tin  in  paper,  but  all  motion  of  tins  must  be  prevented  if  this 
style  of  packing  is  used. 

Containers — Tub  Butter. 

"Tubs. — The  butter  must  be  put  up  in  regular,  sound,  first 
quality  white-ash  tubs,  provided  with  sound  covers  and  five  sound 
hoops,  two  at  the  bottom,  one  at  the  center,  and  two  near  the 
top ;  tubs  to  hold  from  60  to  65  pounds  net  weight  each.  The 
tubs  must  be  soaked  in  the  usual  manner,  properly  steamed,  and 
immediately  coated  on  the  inside  with  paraffine  having  a  tem- 
perature of  not  less  than  240°  F.  when  applied.  They  must  then 
be  lined  with  parchment  paper  (side  lining,  bottom  and  top  cir- 
cles), which  must  first  have  been  sterilized  and  then  soaked  in 
a  clean  brine  solution  for  at  least  30  minutes  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  time  at  which  they  are  used. 

"Packing. — The  parchment  lining  must  overlap  the  bottom 
and  the  top  edges  of  the  butter  at  least  half  an  inch.  The  butter 
must  be  packed  immediately  after  it  is  made,  and  each  tub  must 
be  packed  solid  throughout  and  completely  filled.  A  cloth  circle 
must  be  placed  on  top  of  the  parchment  circle  of  each  tub  and 
covered  with  a  thin  layer  of  salt.  The  tub  covers  must  be  se- 
curely* fastened  by  two  strips  of  substantial  flat  iron  not  less 
than  y2  inch  in  width  securely  fastened  to  the  sides  of  the  tub 
and  brought  over  the  cover  at  right  angles. 

"By  means  of  a  suitable  rubber  stamp  and  stamp  ink  each 
tub  must  be  plainly  marked  on  the  cover  and  side  with  the  net 
weight  of  the  butter  it  contains,  the  name  of  the  contractor,  with 


394  THE  OVERRUN 

or  without  brand,  number  of  contract,  and  the  date  of  packing, 
and  shall  be  free  from  all  other  marks,  except  such  as  may  be 
placed  thereon  by  the  Government  inspector.  Net  weight  only 
to  be  paid  for. 

"The  letters  in  the  rubber  stamp  must  not  be  less  than  % 
inch  square.  Marking  by  means  of  stencil  and  blacking  will  not 
be  permitted. 

Containers — Cube  Butter. 

"Cases. — Cases  to  be  cubical  or  rectangular  in  shape  and 
to  have  a  capacity  of  from  56  to  66  pounds;  to  be  made  of  first 
quality  white  spruce  or  Pacific  coast  spruce  or  clear  poplar  lum- 
ber, cut  true  to  gauge  and  planed  on  both  sides;  tops,  bot- 
toms, and  sides  to  be  not  less  than  J/£  inch  thick,  and  ends  not 
less  than  %  inch  thick  when  finished;  to  be  well  nailed  with 
cement-coated  nails,  and  strapped  with  J^-inch  flat  iron  or 
strong  wire;  otherwise  to  conform  to  all  applicable  require- 
ments of  the  specifications  for  containers  for  tub  butter  above, 
which  include  paraffin  coating  and  parchment  paper  lining." 

CHAPTER.  XIII. 
THE  OVERRUN. 

Definition. — By  the  overrun  is  understood  the  difference 
between  the  pounds  of  butterfat  churned  and  the  pounds  of 
butter  made.  The  overrun  is  made  possible  by  the  fact  that,  in 
addition  to  butterfat,  butter  contains  non-fatty  constituents,  such 
as  moisture,  salt,  curd  and  small  amounts  of  lactose,  acid  and 
ash. 

Importance. — The  overrun  is  the  financial  "vitamine"  of  the 
creamery  business.  Under  the  present  system  of  creamery  oper- 
ation there  is  no  margin  left  between  the  purchase  price  of  the 
butterfat  and  the  sales  price  of  the  butter,  on  which  the  creamery 
can  do  business.  In  fact,  in  a  great  many  instances  the  cost  per 
pound  of  butterfat  is  greater  than  the  price  received  per  pound 
of  butter.  The  creamery  must,  therefore,  depend  on  the  overrun 
to  pay  for  the  cost  of  manufacture  and  sale  of  the  butter  and  to 
make  a  reasonable  profit.  If  it  were  not  for  the  overrun 
the  creamery  could  not  do  business  on  the  present  method  of 


THE:  OVERRUN  395 

paying  the  patrons  for  butterfat.    The  overrun,  therefore,  log- 
ically and  rightfully  belongs  to  the  creamery. 

If  the  dairy  farmer  makes  butter  on  the  farm,  the  overrun 
he  makes  compensates  him  for  his  trouble,  time,  labor  and 
expense  involved  in  making  and  selling  the  butter. 

The  Theoretical  Overrun. — The  theoretical  overrun  is  a 
''pencil"  overrun.  It  aims  to  indicate  the  maximum  amount  of 
butter  that  could  be  legitimately  made  from  a  given  amount  of 
butterfat,  if  all  conditions  of  butter  manufacture  could  be  con- 
trolled with  mathematical  accuracy. 

The  theoretical  overrun  shows,  for  example  that,  if  there 
were  no  mechanical  losses  and  if  butter  contained  exactly  80  per 
cent  of  fat,  the  maximum  amount  of  butter  that  could  be  made 

100 
from  100  pounds  of  fat  would  be  -57—  X  100  =  125  pounds  and 

•  .  oU 

that,  therefore,  the  maximum  legitimate  overrun  is  limited  to 
125  —  100  —  25  per  cent. 

In  the  commercial  operation  of  the  cream,  however,  it  is  a 
mechanical  impossibility  to  establish  the  degree  of  accuracy  that 
is  assumed  in  the  calculation  of  the  theoretical  overrun.  No  such 
standard  of  accuracy  can  be  attained.  For  this  reason  the  figures 
resulting  from  calculation  of  the  theoretical  overrun  cannot  serve 
as  an  acceptable  standard  for  overrun.  They  fail  to  take  into 
consideration  the  true  possibilities  and  limitations  of  the  overrun 
and  they  are  prone  to  prove  confusing  and  misleading.  At  best 
they  can  serve  only  as  an  approximate  and  arbitrary  illustration 
for  the  elementary  information  of  the  layman. 

The  Actual  Overrun. — The  actual  overrun  shows  the  differ- 
ence between  the  actual  amount  of  butter  churned  out  and  the 
amount  of  butterfat  bought  and  paid  for.  It  is  affected  by  a 
multitude  of  factors,  which  control,  directly  or  indirectly,  the 
determination  of  the  amount  of  butterfat  bought  and  churned 
and  the  amount  of  butter  made. 

Conditions  Influencing  the  Overrun. — As  previously  stated, 
the  overrun  is  made  possible  by  the  fact  that  butter  contains, 
in  addition  to  the  butterfat,  water,  curd,  salt  and  ash.  The 
larger  the  sum  total  of  these  non-fatty  constituents,  the  smaller 


396  THS  OVERRUN 

the  amount  of  fat  that  is  required  to  make  one  pound  of  butter, 
the  more  butter  can  be  made  from  a  given  amount  of  fat,  and 
the  larger,  therefore,  will  be  the  overrun.,  Consequently,  the 
composition  of  the  butter  is  the  fundamental  factor  that  con- 
trols the  overrun.  Other  factors  which  influence  the  overrun 
are  the  accuracy  of  weights  and  tests  of  cream,  butterfat 
shortages  of  cream  routes  and  cream  stations,  the  number  and 
amount  of  mechanical  losses  of  butterfat,  such  as  loss  of 
fat  in  the  skim  milk,  in  the  buttermilk  and  through  factory  leaks, 
and  accuracy  of  weights  and  tests  of  butter. 

Effect  of  Composition  of  Butter  on  Overrun. — Of  the  non- 
fatty  constituents  of  butter,  that  control  the  overrun,  the  moist- 
ure, salt  and  curd  are  the  only  ingredients  that  need  be  consid- 
ered and  the  relative  amount  of  which  is  large  enough  and  is 
sufficiently  variable  to  materially  affect  the  overrun.  The  other 
non-fatty  constituents,  the  ash,  milk  sugar  and  acid,  all 
together  total  less  than  .5  of  one  per  cent,  they  are  practically 
constant  and  are  not  materially  affected  by  the  process  of  manu- 
facture under  all  normal  conditions. 

Moisture. — The  moisture  exerts  the  greatest  influence  of 
the  non-fatty  constituents,  on  the  overrun.  It  is  present  in 
larger  amounts  than  all  the  other  non-fatty  constituents  com- 
bined and  it  is  the  most  variable.  Its  maximum  limit  in  the 
United  States  is  fixed  by  a  ruling  of  the  Internal  Revenue  De- 
partment below  16  per  cent.  According  to  this  ruling  butter  con- 
taining 16  per  cent  moisture  or  over  is  no  longer  legal  butter, 
but  is  classed  as  adulterated  butter. 

Under  all  reasonable  conditions  of  manufacture  and  of 
raw  material,  the  moisture  content  of  butter  will  not  exceed  16 
per  cent.  There  are  times  and  conditions,  however,  when  but- 
ter has  an  inherent  tendency  to  naturally  hold  more  moisture. 
This  is  especially  the  case  in  early  summer  when  the  cows  are 
turned  from  dry  feed  to  succulent  pasture,  and  on  account  of 
their  ravenous  appetite  for  green  feed  they  consume  a  great 
abundance  of  it.  This  causes  the  butterfat  to  have  a  low  melt- 
ing point  and  to  be  abnormally  soft.  In  this  soft  condition  it 
mixes  readily  with  water  and  has  the  power  to  retain  relatively 
large  quantities  of  it.  With  intelligent  control  of  the  churn- 
ing temperature  and  careful  adjustment  of  the  process  of  work- 


THE  OVERRUN  397 

ing,  the  buttermaker  can,  without  much  difficulty,  hold  the 
moisture  content  of  his  butter  below  the  maximum  limit  of 
16  per  cent,  even  under  these  abnormal  conditions  of  raw  mate- 
rial. 

There  are  other  times  and  conditions  when  the  butter  has 
properties  that  cause  it  to  take  up  and  hold  much  less  moisture 
than  16  per  cent.  This  is  usually  the  case  in  winter,  when  the 
cows  are  well  advanced  in  their  period  of  lactation  and  receive 
largely  only  dry  feed.  These  conditions  are  conducive  of  rel- 
atively small  size  fat  globules  and  fat  of  a  relatively  high  melt- 
ing point,  causing  the  fat  to  be  very  firm,  in  which  condition  it 
refuses  to  readily  mix  with  and  hold  water.  The  tendency  then 
is  for  butter  to  be  low  in  moisture  and  the  overrun  to  be  corre- 
spondingly low.  But  here  again,  with  the  proper  adjustment 
of  the  churning  temperature  and  with  the  intelligent  manipula- 
tion of  the  butter  in  the  churn,  the  buttermaker  can,  without 
great  difficulty,  hold  the  moisture  content  of  his  butter  close 
to  the  16  per  cent  limit  and  thereby  maintain  a  satisfactory 
overrun. 

These  facts  also  explain  why  the  buttermaker  on  the  farm 
and  the  buttermakers  in  many  small  local  creameries,  who  lack 
the  knowledge,  skill  and  equipment  necessary  to  regulate  the 
per  cent  moisture  in  butter,  and  who  often  pay  no  attention  at 
all  to  moisture  content,  are  unable  to  secure  a  satisfactory  over- 
run in  winter,  and  frequently  exceed  the  16  per  cent  moisture 
limit  in  summer. 

Since  the  overrun  represents  one  of  the  all-essential  factors 
in  successful  butter  manufacture,  and  since,  in  the  face  of  the 
keen  competition  and  of  the  narrow  margin  of  profit,  the  very 
life  of  the  creamery  depends  on  the  overrun,  it  is  the  butter- 
maker's  undisputed  duty  to  hold  the  moisture  content  of  his 
butter  as  close  to  the  maximum  limit  permitted  by  law  as  possi- 
ble, consistent  with  maintenance  of  quality  and  making  due 
allowance  always  for  unavoidable  variations.  If  the  buttermaker 
adjusts  his  process  in  such  a  manner  as  to  work  to  a  moisture 
content  of  15.5  per  cent,  he  should  experience  no  serious  difficulty 
to  stay  within  the  requirements  of  the  law,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  secure  the  maximum  overrun  that  may  be  expected  of  him. 
other  factors  being  under  control. 


398  THE  OVERRUN 

Salt. — The  salt  represents  the  next  largest  non-fatty  con- 
stituent of  butter.  The  salt  content  of  butter  ranges  from  no 
salt  to  about  4.5  per  cent  salt,  averaging  about  3  per  cent. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  more  salt  butter  contains,  other 
factors  being  equal,  the  larger  will  be  the  overrun.  Unsalted 
butter,  therefore,  yields  a  much  lower  overrun  than  salted  but- 
ter, unless  the  legal  moisture  limit  is  exceeded  or  an  abnormal 
amount  of  curd  is  incorporated  in  the  unsalted  butter,  both  of 
which  practices  are  unlawful  and  would  unfavorably  affect  the 
keeping  quality  of  the  resulting  butter. 

The  difference  in  overrun  between  unsalted  butter  and 
butter  containing  about  3  per  cent  salt  is  approximately  4.5 
per  cent.  With  the  price  of  butter  at  40  cents,  the  sale  of  un- 
salted butter  at  the  same  price  would  cause  the  creamery  to 
sacrifice  1.8  cents  on  every  pound  of  butter  manufactured.  In 
other  words,  unsalted  butter  would  have  to  be  sold  at  a  price 
approximately  1.8  cents  higher  than  salted  butter  in  order  to 
secure  the  same  returns  for  butterfat  sold  in  the  form  of  unsalted 
butter  as  that  sold  in  the  form  of  salted  butter. 

Curd. — The  curd  content  of  butter  is  not  generally  consid- 
ered a  factor  of  consequence  from  the  standpoint  of  overrun. 
In  properly  made  butter  the  curd  content  is  small,  averaging 
about  .7  of  one  per  cent,  and  it  is  fairly  constant.  If  butter  were 
not  washed  at  all  it  would  not  exceed  1.5  per  cent  curd  and 
would  average  around  1  to  1.25  per  cent.  In  properly  washed 
butter  it  is  practically  always  below  1  per  cent.  In  calculating 
the  overrun,  the  curd  is  usually  figured  to  be  1  per  cent,  allow- 
ing it  to  also  represent  the  remaining  traces  of  other  non-fatty 
constituents,  the  ash,  milk  sugar  and  acid. 

Efforts  are  made  occasionally,  however,  to  increase  the  over- 
run by  incorporating  in  butter,  extraneous  additional  curd,  in 
the  form  of  wet  or  dry  casein,  or  skim  milk  powder.  In  such 
cases  the  extraneous  curd  is  added  to  the  butter  in  the  churn 
with  the  salt  and  it  is  worked  in  during  the  regular  process  of 
working. 

If  the  curd  is  so  added,  in  form  of  starter,  the  increase  of  the 
curd  content  in  the  butter  is  very  slight  and  barely  perceptible 
by  analysis,  and  there  is  no  appreciable  increase  in  the  overrun. 


THE:  OVERRUN  399 

If  the  curd  is  added  to  the  butter  in  the  form  of  dry  casein, 
or  skim  milk  powder,  then  the  increase  of  the  per  cent  curd  found 
in  such  butter  is  very  marked  and  is  limited  only  by  the  amount 
of  these  products  added.  The  curd  content  of  the  butter  thus 
may  be  from  5  to  10  per  cent  or  more  and  the  increase  in  the  over- 
run may  amount  as  high  as  15  per  cent  or  more.  In  the  case  of 
skim  milk  powder  a  considerable  amount  of  milk  sugar  is  also 
retained  in  butter  with  the  added  curd,  making  the  overrun  still 
higher.  Furthermore,  the  increased  curd  content  of  such  butter 
augments  the  moisture-holding  properties  of  the  butter  and  un- 
less efforts  are  made  to  hold  the  per  cent  moisture  in  such  butter 
to  or  below  16  per  cent,  the  moisture  content  may  far  exceed  this 
limit,  causing  a  still  greater  overrun. 

The  practice  of  working  extraneous  curd  into  butter  in 
any  manner  is  a  pernicious  practice.  It  is  in  violation  of  the 
law  which  forbids  the  incorporation  in  butter  of  any  substance 
other  than  the  fat  of  milk  or  cream  and  small  portions  of  such 
other  milk  constituents  as  naturally  enter  into  butter  in  the 
process  of  manufacture,  with  or  without  salt  and  with  or  with- 
out harmless  coloring  matter.  Extraneous  curd  incorporation 
further  is  a  positive  detriment  to  the  butter  industry,  because 
it  causes  rapid  deterioration,  injures  the  keeping  quality  and 
thereby  displeases  the  consumer,  reduces  sales,  depresses  the 
price  and  invites  the  consumption  of  butter  substitutes. 

Accuracy  of  Weights  and  Tests  of  Cream. — Since  the  over- 
run is  calculated  on  the  basis  of  butterfat  actually  bought  and 
paid  for,  it  is  necessarily  immediately  influenced  by  the  accu- 
racy of  the  weights  and  tests  of  milk  and  cream,  upon  the 
basis  of  which  the  amount  of  the  butterfat  is  calculated.  The 
overrun  cannot  be  correct,  be  it  high  or  low,  if  the  weights  and 
tests  are  not  correct.  Weights  of  milk  or  cream  that  are  in  ex- 
cess of  the  correct  weights  received  and  tests  higher  than  the 
correct  tests,  are  bound  to  lower  the  overrun  and  if  the  error 
is  considerable  and  continuous,  it  spells  ruin  to  the  creamery. 

Where  the  milk  or  cream  is  sampled,  weighed  and  tested 
at  the  creamery,  as  is  the  case  with  most  cooperative  cream- 
eries and  with  creameries  operating  on  the  direct  shipper  sys- 
tem, inaccuracies  of  this  sort  are  not  very  frequent  and  their 


400  THE  OVERRUN 

recurrence  can  be  readily  avoided.  But  when  the  cream  is 
weighed  and  sampled  on  the  route  wagon,  as  is  the  case  with 
the  cream  route  system,  or  where  the  cream  is  weighed,  sampled 
and  tested  at  the  cream  station,  or  where  the  creamery  accepts 
the  weights  and  tests  of  the  independent  cream  buyer,  control 
is  far  more  difficult  and  the  creamery  often  surfers  great  losses 
of  butterfat,  which  compel  it  to  pay  for  more  butterfat 
than  it  actually  received  and  this  in  turn  is  bound  to  greatly 
depress  the  overrun. 

If  the  error  in  weights  and  tests  is  in  the  other  direction, 
if  the  weights  are  short  of  the  actual  amount  of  milk  or  cream 
received  and  if  the  recorded  tests  are  lower  than  correct  tests 
would  be,  then  the  creamery  is  receiving  more  butterfat  than 
it  is  paying  for  and  the  overrun  is  correspondingly  high.  Ab- 
normally high  overruns,  therefore,  are  not  infrequently  due 
to  low  weights  or  low  tests,  or  both. 

Occasional  accidental  errors  in  weights  and  tests  may  rea- 
sonably be  expected.  They  generally  work  no  great  hardship, 
neither  on  the  creamery  nor  on  the  farmer,  and  in  the  long 
run  usually  balance  each  other. 

Persistent  and  continued  inaccuracies,  all  in  one  direction, 
on  the  other  hand,  suggest  either  systematic  carelessness  and 
inefficiency,  or  intentional  wrongdoing.  If  due  to  inefficiency, 
then  the  equipment  or  the  method  is  at  fault,  and  the  overrun 
can  only  be  made  to  return  to  what  it  should  be  by  a  systematic 
effort  to  locate  the  trouble. 

The  route,  station  or  platform  scales  should  be  examined 
to  make  sure  that  they  swing  freely,  operate  correctly,  and 
weigh  accurately.  Scales  that  "stick"  or  do  not  "break"  sharply 
are  very  often  the  cause  of  a  low  overrun,  registering  more 
milk  or  cream  than  the  creamery  actually  received.  The  milk 
or  cream,  and  especially  the  cream  on  the  route  wagon  and  at 
the  cream  station,  must  be  thoroughly  mixed  before  the  sample 
is  taken.  Sudden  drops  in  the  overrun  in  winter  are  not  infre- 
quently due  to  an  unsatisfactory  mechanical  condition  of  the 
cream  at  the  time  the  sample  is  taken.  Frozen  cream  should 
be  treated  in  accordance  with  directions  given  in  chapter  IV, 
and  the  cream,  after  the  treatment,  should  be  stirred  very 
thoroughly.  Under  any  condition  the  cream  sampler  should  under- 


OVERRUN  401 

stand  that  the  top  layer  in  the  cans  or  in  other  cream  con- 
tainers, is  usually  richer  in  butterfat  than  any  other  portion  of 
the  contents.  If  the  sample  is  simply  taken  from  the  top,  it 
cannot  help  containing  a  higher  per  cent  of  fat  than  the  re- 
mainder of  the  cream,  and  tests  made  from  such  samples  are 
bound  to  be  too  high  and  the  overrun  low. 

In  the  testing1  of  the  milk  or  cream  it  should  be  definitely 
ascertained  that  the  glassware  used  is  correct,  that  the  cream 
test  balance  has  the  necessary  sensibility  and  is  in  satisfactory 
operating  condition,  and  that  the  weighing,  testing  and  reading 
is  done  with  care  and  according  to  standard  methods. 

Cream  route  and  cream  station  shortages  of  butterfat  are 
most  always  due  to  improper  and  careless  sampling,  causing  the 
individual  samples  to  be  richer  in  butterfat  than  the  cream 
from  which  they  are  taken.  Whether  this  be  due  to  mere  care- 
lessness on  the  part  of  the  operator,  or  willful  deception,  makes 
little  difference.  Creameries  who  fail  to  systematically  check 
up  the  work  of  their  routes  and  stations,  and  to  hold  their 
operators  to  account  for  their  delinquencies,  are  doomed  to  a 
disastrously  low  overrun. 

Buying  cream  on  the  weights  and  tests  of  the  independent 
buyer  is  a  practice  fundamentally  wrong.  The  independent 
buyer  is  largely  interested  in  selling  to  the  creamery  the  great- 
est amount  of  butterfat  possible.  Therein  lies  his  livelihood" 
and  his  profit.  He  cannot  afford  to  sell  more  butterfat  than  he 
gets  paid  for  and  he  is  usually  looking  out  for  that.  Unless  he 
masters  a  strength  of  character  far  above  the  average  of  his 
profession,  he  may  yield  to  temptation  to  the  detriment  of  the 
overrun  of  the  creamery  that  accepts  his  weights  and  tests.  The 
creamery  cannot  afford  to  buy  butterfat  on  any  basis  other  than 
that  of  its  own  weights  and  tests. 

High  tests  and  low  overrun  are  likely  to  occur  also  in 
creameries  that  hold  their  samples  for  several  days  before  test- 
ing. This  is  especially  the  case  when  the  samples  are  kept  in 
loosely  sealed  jars,  or  in  a  warm  room,  or  both.  In  this  case 
the  incorrectly  high  tests  are  due  to  evaporation  of  part  of  the- 
moisture  in  the  cream  sample,  increasing  the  per  cent  of  fat  and 
causing  a  low  overrun.  It  is  advisable  to  test  all  cream  samples 
on  the  day  they  are  taken  or  received.  All  samples  should  be 


402  THIS  OVERRUN 

taken  and  kept  in  tightly  sealed  jars,  and  if  they  cannot  be  tested 
promptly,  they  should  be  placed  in  the  cold  room  until  needed. 

Mechanical  Losses  of  Fat. — Of  the  mechanical  losses  of  fat 
in  the  creamery  which  materially  affect  the  overrun,  the  fat 
lost  in  the  skim  milk  and  the  fat  lost  in  the  buttermilk  are  the 
most  important. 

Skim  Milk. — On  the  basis  of  average  milk,  testing  about  4 
per  cent  fat  and  of  butter  containing  80  per  cent  fat,  every  one- 
tenth  per  cent  fat  lost  in  the  skim  milk  reduces  the  overrun  by 
about  2.2  per  cent.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  whole  milk  cream- 
eries cannot  hope  to  secure  as  large  an  overrun  as  gathered  cream 
creameries.  The  very  marked  effect  of  the  small  amount  of  fat 
lost  in  the  skim  milk,  on  the  overrun,  emphasizes  the  importance 
of  securing  the  greatest  possible  skimming  efficiency  in  the 
operation  of  the  factory  cream  separator,  so  as  to  reduce  the 
resulting  loss  to  the  very  minimum.  For  detailed  directions  on 
the  factors  which  influence  the  skimming  efficiency  of  the  cream 
separator  the  reader  is  referred  to  Chapter  V  on  the  "Separation 
of  Milk." 

Buttermilk. — The  exhaustiveness  of  the  churning  does  not 
have  so  great  an  effect  on  the  overrun  as  does  the  exhaustive- 
ness  of  skimming,  yet  it  is  a  factor  that  must  be  reckoned  with 
in  order  to  secure  maximum  overrun.  With  cream  testing  about 
33  per  cent  fat  and  using  10  per  cent  starter,  and  with  butter 
containing  80  per  cent  fat,  each  one-tenth  per  cent  fat  lost  in 
the  buttermilk  lowers  the  overrun  approximately  .23  per  cent. 
It  is  generally  considered  that  an  average  buttermilk  test  of  not 
to  exceed  .2  per  cent  fat  is  not  excessive  on  this  basis ;  the 
sacrifice  in  overrun  that  may  be  expected  under  fairly  normal 
conditions,  due  to  the  fat  lost  in  the  buttermilk,  is  about  .5 
per  cent. 

In  a  properly  operated  creamery  where  the  conditions  relat- 
ing to  exhaustiveness  of  churning  are  carefully  watched,  the  but- 
termilk seldom  exceeds  .2  per  cent,  and  frequently  drops  below 
.1  per  cent.  In  plants  which  ignore  the  importance  of  the  ex- 
haustiveness of  churning  and  which  do  not  systematically  check 
it  up  by  testing  the  buttermilk,  it  is  not  uncommon  to  find  the 


OVERRUN  403 

buttermilk  to  test  very  high,  amounting  to  from  .5  to  1  per  cent 
or  more,  and  causing  a  reduction  of  the  overrun  of  from  1  to  3  per 
cent  or  more. 

As  it  is  difficult  to  correctly  determine  the  per  cent  fat  in 
the  buttermilk  by  the  ordinary  Babcock  test,  the  results  of  the 
test  often  do  not  show  all  the  fat  present  in  the  buttermilk,  so 
that  the  operator  may  think  that  he  is  churning  exhaustively 
when  in  reality  he  loses  much  fat.  For  directions  of  testing 
buttermilk  see  Chapter  XXII. 

Some  of  the  most  important  factors  which  control  the  ex- 
haustiveness  of  churning  are:  Churning  temperature,  time  held 
at  churning  temperature,  richness  of  cream,  condition  of  cream, 
fulness  and  speed  of  churn,  size  of  butter  granules  when  churn  is 
stopped,  etc.  For  detailed  discussion  of  these  factors  the  reader 
is  referred  to  Chapter  X  on  "Conditions  Influencing  the  Churn- 
ability  of  Cream,"  also  Chapter  VII  on  " Neutralization"  and 
Chapter  VIII  on  "Pasteurization." 

Other  Mechanical  Losses  Which  Tend  to  Reduce  the  Over- 
run.— Frequently  the  low  overrun  is  found  to  be  due  to  exces- 
sive foaming  of  the  cream  in  the  vats.  The  cream  foam  usually 
contains  a  high  per  cent  of  fat.  It  is  flushed  out  of  the  vats 
with  difficulty  only,  and  often  much  of  it  goes  into  the  sewer. 
Efforts  to  thoroughly  flush  this  foam  out  of  the  vats  into  the 
churn  require  excessive  amounts  of  water,  usually  warm  water. 
This  in  turn  dilutes  the  cream  and  increases  the  amount  of  but- 
termilk, thus  augmenting  the  volume  of  buttermilk  and  with  it 
the  amount  of  fat  lost.  The  thinning  of  the  cream  in  itself 
causes  a  higher  per  cent  of  fat  in  the  buttermilk.  Furthermore, 
the  cream  in  the  churn  is  thus  warmed  above  the  intended  churn- 
ing temperature,  by  the  copious  rinsing  down  of  the  foam  with 
warm  water,  which  makes  for  less  exhaustive  churning. 

In  most  cases  the  excessive  foaming  of  the  cream  in  the  vats 
is  due  to  too  high  a  speed  of  the  coils,  whipping  air  into  the 
cream.  This  is  especially 'the  case  when  the  vat  is  not  full  and 
the  coil  is  only  partly  covered  with  the  cream.  Reducing  the 
speed  of  the  coil  generally  diminishes  and  often  stops  the  foam- 
ing entirely.  The  larger  the  coil  the  slower  should  be  its  speed. 
The  proper  speed  for  a  24-inch  coil  is  about  35  to  40  revolutions 
per  minute,  for  a  29-inch  coil  28  to  30  revolutions  per  minute. 


404  THE  OVERRUN 

Filling  the  vat  full,  so  as  to  submerge  the  coil,  will  lessen 
the  foaming.  Running  the  coil  with  the  vat  cover  down  min- 
imizes the  foaming,  the  slight  pressure  thus  produced  in  the 
closed  vat  helps  to  keep  the  foam  down.  If  the  cream  splashes 
into  the  vat  from  a  great  height,  there  is  more  or  less  foaming. 
A  large  vat  gate  assists  in  carrying  off  the  foam  with  {he  cream, 
when  the  vat  is  being  emptied. 

Additional  mechanical  losses  occur  now  and  then  by  acci- 
dental spilling  of  milk  and  cream,  leaks  in  pumps,  pipe  lines, 
cream  troughs  and  churn  doors,  incomplete  draining  of  milk  and 
cream  cans,  pipes  and  troughs.  These  losses  will  greatly  vary 
with  the  degree  of  carefulness  or  carelessness  of  the  creamery 
personnel.  .  They  represent  a  useless  waste,  benefitting  no  one 
and  reducing  the  overrun.  They  are  avoidable  in  most  cases 
and  can  be  guarded  against  by  efficient  supervision.  All  of  these 
precautions  play  an  integral  part  in  the  systematic  maintenance 
of  a  satisfactory  overrun. 

Accuracy  of  Moisture  Tests. — Since  the  per  cent  of  moisture 
is  a  fundamental  factor  determining  the  overrun,  it  is  important 
that  its  determination  be  correct  and  reliable.  This  means  care- 
ful sampling  of  the  butter,  a  sensitive  balance  and  conscientious 
operation  of  the  test.  For  details  of  testing  butter  for  moisture 
see  Chapter  XXII. 

The  butter  should  be  tested  at  the  churn  and  again  the 
next  morning  from  the  cooler.  The  churn  tests  are  necessary 
as  a  guide  for  the  buttermaker,  the  cooler  tests  serve  as  a  check 
of  the  churn  tests.  The  cooler  tests  are  final  and  become  a  mat- 
ter of  record. 

Accuracy  at  this  point  enables  the  creamery  to  approach 
the  moisture  limit  permitted,  with  reasonable  certainty  of  not 
violating  the  16  per  cent  ruling,  and  thereby  to  secure  the  max- 
imum overrun  possible. 

Accuracy  of  Weights  of  Butter. — Finally  the  overrun  may 
be  very  materially  affected  by  the  accuracy  of  the  weights  of 
butter.  In  the  case  of  the  factory  overrun  the  cubes  and  tubs 
are  weighed  prior  to  packing  and  again  after  packing,  the  dif- 
ference between  the  tare  and  the  gross  weights  gives  the  net 
weight  of  the  butter.  Accuracy  of  weighing  is  necessary  in 
order  to  insure  the  correct  calculation  of  the  overrun. 


THE  OVERRUN  405 

In  the  case  of  packing  63-pound  tubs,  it  is  customary  to 
allow  from  4  to  12  ounces  for  shrinkage.  If  the  net  weight  of 
the  butter  is  say  62  pounds  10  ounces  the  weight  put  on  the 
tub  is  62  pounds.  Instead  of  weighing  the  filled  tub,  the  butter 
may  be  weighed  before  it  reaches  the  tub  and  the  weighed  butter 
is  then  packed  into  the  tub.  In  this  case  only  the  net  weight  is 
placed  on  the  tub.  The  San  Francisco  Wholesale  Dairy  Produce 
Exchange  issued  regulations  demanding  that  standard  cubes  be 
rilled  with  69  pounds  of  butter  net  and  that  the  cubes  be  marked 
68  pounds. 

If  the  butter  is  printed  at  the  creamery,  the  accuracy  of 
the  net  weight  put  into  each  print  is  reflected  in  the  office  over- 
run. Accuracy  here  is  best  secured  by  passing  each  print  over 
a  sensitive  butter  balance  and  correcting  the  weights,  if  short, 
or  over. 

Example  of  Overrun  in  Whole-Milk  Creamery. 

10,000  Ibs.  of  4%  milk  are  received. 

32%  cream  is  separated. 

Skim  milk  tests  .1%  fat. 

10%  starter  is  added. 

Buttermilk  tests  .2%  fat. 

Butter  contains  80%  fat. 

How  much  butter  is  made? 

What  is  the  overrun?    What  is  the  per  cent  overrun? 

Answer.— 

Butterfat  contained  in  milk,    4  X^°°  •  :  =  4°°  Ibs.  fat. 

4x  10000       10-n  ,. 
Cream  separated  from  milk,  -  r^  -  =  12^0  Ibs.  cream. 

Skim  milk  separated  from  milk,  10000—1250  =  8750  Ibs. 
skim  milk. 

Fat  lost  in  skim  milk,  -  —        J      =  8.75  Ibs.  fat. 


Fat  remaining  in  cream,  400  —  8.75  —  391.25  Ibs.  fat. 
Starter  added  to  cream,  -  '  •    ^      •=  125  Ibs.  starter. 

Total    pounds    of    cream    churned,    1250  +  125  —  1375  Ibs. 
cream. 


406  THE  OVERRUN 

Approximate  pounds  of  buttermilk  made,  1375  —  391  =984 
Ibs.  buttermilk. 

9  y  984 
Fat  lost  in  buttermilk,  L14gg  —  =  1.97  Ibs.  fat. 

Fat  left  for  butter,  391.25  —  1.97  =  389.28  Ibs.  fat. 
Butter  made,  —  }  XgQ89'28  =  486.6  Ibs.  butter. 
Overrun,  486.6  —  400  =  86.6  Ibs.  overrun. 
Per  cent  overrun,   -  -  =.  21.65%  overrun. 


In  the  above  example  the  mechanical  losses  on  the  400  Ibs.  of 
fat  were  8.75  +  1.97  —  10.72  Ibs.  of  fat,  the  per  cent  loss  was 

'  =  2.68  per  cent  of  the  total  fat  received.     Adding  to 


these  losses,  the  probable  fat  lost  in  the  form  of  milk  and  cream 
spilled  and  retained  in  the  pipes,  etc.,  the  total  mechanical  loss  of  fat 
may  be  placed  at  from  3  to  3.5  per  cent  of  the  total  fat  received.  In 
whole  milk  creameries  a  loss  of  3  to  3.5  per  cent  of  the  total  fat  re- 
ceived is  generally  accepted  as  a  fair  average  loss  under  normal  con- 
ditions of  operation,  though  this  loss  can  be  considerably  reduced  by 
better  organization  and  greater  efficiency  of  operation. 

If  there  were  no  compensating  factors,  such  as  undeterminable 
unrecognized  fractions  of  weights  and  tests  of  milk,  which,  in  an  effi- 
ciently operated  creamery  are  bound  to  function  in  favor  of  the 
creamery,  the  per  cent  overrun  would  be  as  follows  : 


V  3 
Loss  of  3%  of  total  fat  received  =  25  --     IQQ     =21.25% 

overrun. 

ioc  v  ?  c 

Loss  of  3.5%  of  total  fat  received  =  25         \^—  =  20.625% 
overrun.  .  ,  ;. 

Example  of  Overrun  in  Farm  Separator  Cream  Creamery. 

2000  Ibs.  of  33%  cream  are  received. 

10%  starter  are  added. 

Buttermilk  tests  .2  per  cent  fat. 

Butter  contains  80  per  cent  fat. 

How  much  butter  is  made? 

What  is  the  overrun?     What  is  the  per  cent  overrun? 


THK  OVERRUN  407 

Answer.—    .  .    ,:  ••". 

?000  V^ 
Fat  in  2000  Ibs.  of  cream,  J^:  ~  =  660  Ibs.  fat. 


2000  X  10 
Starter  added  to  cream,  -  r-r-r-  —  =  200  Ibs.  starter. 

'•!'.'   /.  *..'  ..  "-  1UU  .  . 

Total  pounds  of  cream  churned,  2000  +  200  =  2200  Ibs.  cream. 
Buttermilk  produced,  2200  —  660  =  1540  Ibs.  buttermilk. 


"7  V        - 
Fat  in  buttermilk,         ,  nn        =  3-08  lbs-  fat 

1UU 

Fat  left  for  butter,  660  —  3.08  =  656.92  lbs.  fat. 


Butter  made,   10°      p'      =  821.1  lbs.  butter. 
Overrun  made,  821.1  —  660=  161.1  lbs.  overrun. 
Per  cent  overrun,  -  ~Z7  -  —  24.41%  overrun. 


7  OR  v  1  no 

Per  cent  loss  of  total  fat,  *          —  •467%  f  at- 

ooU 

Adding  to  this  loss,  the  probable  fat  lost  in  the  form  of  cream 
spilled  and  retained  in  the  pipes,  etc.,  the  total  mechanical  loss  of  fat 
may  be  placed  at  approximately  1  per  cent  of  the  total  fat  received. 
In  farm  separator  cream  creameries  a  loss  of  1  per  cent  of  the  total 
fat  purchased  is  generally  accepted  as  a  fair  average  loss  under  nor- 
mal conditions  of  operation,  though  this  loss  can  be  considerably  re- 
duced by  improved  organization  and  greater  efficiency  of  operation. 

If  there  were  no  compensating  factors,  such  as  undeterminable 
and  unrecognized  fractions  of  weights  and  tests  of  cream,  which, 
in  an  efficiently  operated  creamery  are  bouricj  to  function  in  favor 
of  the  creamery,  the  per  cent  overrun  would  be  as  follows  : 

Loss  ©f  1  •%  of  total  fat  received  yields  25  --  r^  —  :  =' 
23.75%  overrun. 

Unavoidable  Discrepancies  in  Weights  and  Tests  that  affect 
the  Overrun.  —  The  foregoing  examples  of  actual  overrun  differ 
from  the  calculations  of  the  theoretical  overrun,  in  that  they  make 
allowance  for  the  mechanical  losses  of  fat  in  the  process  of  manu- 
facture. But,  similar  as  in  the  case  of  the  theoretical  overrun  they 
are  based  on  the  assumption  that  the  pounds  of  fat  received  and 
paid  for,  are  determined  with  mathematical  accuracy  that  yields 
absolutely  correct  results.  They  make  no  allowance  in  the  weigh- 


40&  THE  OVERRUN 

ing  of  milk  and  cream  for  the  fractions  of  pounds  that  fall  be- 
tween the  smallest  graduations  on  the  beam  of  the  scales ;  they 
provide  no  tolerance  in  the  testing  of  milk  and  cream  for  fractions 
of  the  per  cent  of  fat  that  fall  between  the  smallest  graduations 
on  the  neck  of  the  test  bottle;  and  furthermore,  they  assume,  in 
the  calculation  of  the  money  due  the  farmer,  that  all  fractions  of 
pounds  of  butterfat,  even  those  of  the  last  decimal  are  included, 
making  no  allowance  for  the  dropping  of  any  fractions. 

But  in  practical  operation  these  details  do  exist,  and  contrary  to 
the  general  impression,  their  occurrence  very  vitally  affects  the 
actual  overrun. 

It  is  not  often  that  either  the  empty  or  the  full  can  weighs 
exactly  to  whole  or  half  pounds.  In  the  majority  of  cases  the  exact 
weight  is  somewhere  between  the  whole  and  half  pound  and  the 
operator  has  to  choose  between  dropping  the  undeterminable  and 
unrecognized  fraction  or  calling  that  fraction  one  whole  or  one- 
half  pound. 

Similar  limitations  of  accuracy  occur  in  the  testing  of  milk  and 
cream,  and  particularly  in  the  case  of  cream.  The  smallest  division 
marks  on  the  neck  of  the  standard  cream  test  bottle  record  one-half 
per  cent  and  the  distance  between  the  graduation  marks  is  very 
minute,  about  one  thirty-seventh  of  one  inch,  making  it  impractica- 
ble, if  not  impossible,  to  determine  and  record  fractions  of  less  than 
one-half  per  cent,  and  occasionally  difficult  to  even  distinguish  one- 
half  per  cent. 

But  quite  often  the  length  of  the  fat  column  fails  to  exactly 
coincide  with  the  whole  per  cent  or  the  half  per  cent  marks  and  the 
tester  has  to  choose  between  dropping  the  uncertain,  undeterminable 
and  unrecognized  fraction,  reading  to  the  next  lower  line,  or  calling 
that  fraction  a  whole  or  a  half  per  cent. 

Finally,  the  pounds  of  butterfat,  as  calculated  from  the  pounds 
of  cream  and  the  fat  test,  often  represent  an  amount  with  three  to 
four  decimals,  rendering  the  computation  of  the  money  due  the 
farmer  complicated,  time-consuming,  uneconomical  and  inviting 
errors  in  the  results.  This  has  led  to  the  practice  on  the  part  of  the 
creameries,  of  dropping  some  of  these  fractions,  usually  including 
those  of  the  second  decimal. 

These  unreadable  and  unrecognized  fractions  in  the  weights  and 
tests  of  cream  have,  in  the  past,  failed  to  be  considered  in  the  treat- 


OVERRUN  409 

ment  of  the  subject  of  the  overrun.  They  are  a  fact,  however, 
which  the  creamery  has  to  deal  with.  It  has  no  choice  in  the  matter, 
and  collectively  they  do  affect  the  overrun  to  a  very  marked  degree 
in  one  direction  or  the  other,  and  to  a  degree  that  has  not  been  fully 
recognized  by  the  industry  in  the  past. 

Since  business  cannot  be  conducted  successfully  by  paying  for 
more  than  is  actually  received,  the  creamery  cannot  pay  for  butter- 
fat  it  does  not  receive  and  no  efficiently  operated  creamery  would 
tolerate  such  transactions.  Every  loyal  creamery  operator  will 
record  only  as  much  weight  of  cream  and  as  much  fat  in  the  test  as 
the  cream  scales  and  the  Babcock  Test  actually  show.  And  if  the 
exact  weight  and  the  exact  test  involve  fractions  which  cannot  be 
determined  by  the  standard  equipment,  and  which  are  not  recog- 
nized, he  ignores  these  fractions. 

A  similar  practice  is  in  vogue  the  country  over  in  the  purchase 
of  butter  and  other  farm  produce.  When  butter  is  sold  to  the  pro- 
duce trade  on  the  open  market,  the  buyer  makes  remittance  for 
whole  pounds  only.  The  butter  buyer  does  not  recognize  fractions 
of  pounds,  nor  even  half  pounds,  and  he  often  insists  on  the  scale 
beam  touching  the  top  when  weighing.  If  a  tub  of  butter  weighs 
63  pounds  and  15  ounces,  the  creamery  selling  this  butter  would  be 
entitled  to  and  would  receive  pay  for  63  pounds  only.  This  is  an 
established  custom,  recognized  and  accepted  by  the  industry,  not- 
withstanding the  objections  which  have  been  raised  against  it 
recently. 

When  the  creamery  recognizes,  records  and  pays  for  half 
pounds  of  cream  and  half  per  cents  of  the  test,  and  this  should  be 
the  practice  in  every  creamery,  it  is  paying  the  farmer  more  nearly 
for  the  exact  amount  of  the  product  it  receives  than  is  the  estab- 
lished custom  of  buying  butter  and  other  farm  produce.  It  cannot, 
as  an  efficiently  conducted  business,  pay  for  more  than  it  actually 
receives,  hence  it  must  receive  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  in  all  cases 
of  unavoidable  and  unreadable  fractions  of  pounds  of  cream  and 
of  per  cent  fat  in  the  test. 

It  may  be  argued  that  equity  demands  the  payment  for  butterf at 
on  the  basis  of  a  "give  and  take"  system  as  far  as  these  unreadable 
fractions  of  weights  and  tests  is  concerned,  in  which  case  fractions 
of  over  one-fourth  pound  and  over  three-fourths  pound  of  cream 
would  be  recorded  as  half  pounds  and  whole  pounds  respectively, 


410  THK  OVERRUN 


and  all  fractions  of  over  one-quarter  and  three-quarters  per  cent  in 
the  test  would  be  recorded  as  half  per  cents  and  as  whole  per  cents 
respectively,  while  all  fractions  below  the  quarter  and  below  the 
three-quarter  pounds  and  per  cents  would  be  ignored.  By  this  sys- 
tem of  "give  and  take,"  it  is  claimed  by  some,  these  unreadable  frac- 
tions would  be  taken  care  of  equitably,  both  to  the  farmer  and  to 
the  creamery. 

From  the  standpoint  of  absolute  correctness,  this  system  would 
be  more  nearly  ideal,  but  it  is  impracticable  in  commercial  operation. 
It  is  too  complicated  and  confusing  to  be  adaptable  to  the  routine  of 
creamery  operation;  in  fact,  it  is  not  done.  The  unreadable  frac- 
tions are  either  not  recognized,  or  they  are  recorded  as  half  or  whole 
pounds  and  per  cents  respectively.  There  can  be  no  double  method, 
and  since  long  established  custom  of  the  industry  accepts,  and  busi- 
ness competition  demands,  the  ignoring  of  the  unreadable  fractions, 
these  fractions  are,  in  fact,  ignored. 

The  gains  in  overrun  which  these  unreadable  and  unrecognized 
fractions  effect  will  naturally  vary.  Under  average  conditions  they 
may  amount  to  about  2  to  4%.  In  creameries  in  which  the  general 
standard  of  efficiency  is  low,  these  gains  are  more  than  offset  by  the 
mechanical  losses.  In  creameries  which  maintain  a  high  standard 
of  efficiency,  reducing  the  mechanical  losses  to  the  minimum,  these 
gains  very  appreciably  exceed  the  mechanical  losses  and  result  in  the 
production  of  an  overrun  slightly  higher  than  the  maximum 
overrun  possible  on  the  basis  of  the  calculations  of  the  theo- 
retical overrun. 

Other  conditions  being  the  same,  the  increase  in  the  overrun 
due  to  the  unrecognized  fractions  varies  largely  with  the  amount 
and  richness  of  each  individual  shipment  of  cream  ;  the  smaller  the 
amount  of  fat  contained  in  each  individual  shipment  of  cream,  the 
greater  must  necessarily  be  the  effect  of  the  undeterminable  and 
unrecognized  fractions  on  the  overrun.  Hence  these  gains  actually 
amount  to  more  in  the  case  of  creameries  whose  individual  ship- 
pers, ship  largely  only  in  5-gallon  cans  than  in  the  case  of  cream- 
eries that  receive  most  of  their  shipments  in  8  and  10-gallon  cans. 

The  following  arbitrary  example  may  serve  to  illustrate  the 
influence  of  the  unrecognized  fractions  of  weights  and  tests  of 
cream  and  of  the  resulting  fat  calculations  on  the  overrun:  .>" 


THE  OVERRUN  4.11 

Example.  — 

Gains,  in  weighing  empty  cans  and  full  cans. 

5-gallon  empty  can  weighs  12.75  Ibs.,  marked  13  Ibs.  ; 
gain  is  ..........  .  ...  .  .  ......................  ......  ..  .25  Ibs. 

5-gallon  full  can  weighs  51.75  Ibs.,  marked  51.5  Ibs.; 
gain  is  .  .  .  ........  ........................  .......  ...  .25  Ibs. 

Gain  of   cream  ....................  .  ........  .  .....  50  Ibs. 

Net  weight  of  cream  recorded  is,  51.5  —  13  =  38.5  Ibs. 

Cream  tests  33  per  cent  fat. 

2-2  \s  -jo  q 

Fat  in  38.5  Ibs.  of  33%  cream,  -  ^          '  -  12.705  Ibs.  fat. 


Fat  in  .5  Ibs.  of  33%  cream,     7         =  .16  Ibs.  fat. 

1UU 

For  each  100  Ibs.  fat,  gain  in  fat  is,       '^    X  100=  1.259  Ibs. 
fat. 

Gain  in  testing  cream. 

Assuming  that  the  fat  column  measures  between  33  and  33.5%, 
say  33.25%,  the  test  is  read  at  33%  mark. 

For  each  100  Ibs.  of  cream  the  gain  is  .25  Ibs.  fat. 

OC    \>    -20    C 

•  Viv  For  38.5  Ibs.  of  cream  the  gain  is,  '      *g       =  .09625  Ibs.  fat. 
...  .          *  lUU 


For  each  100  Ibs.  of  fat  the  gain  is,  '  =  -758  Ibs.  fat. 

Gain  in  calculation  of  butterfat. 

Second  decimal  is  dropped. 

In  case  of  12.705  Ibs.  of  fat  .005  Ibs.  fat  are  gained. 

DOS  V  100 
For  each  100  Ibs.  of  fat  the  gain  is,       ^705      =  '°394  lbs'  fat 

Summary  of  Gains. 

Gains  on  weights  of  cream  ...............  .......  1.259  lbs.  fat 

Gains  on  tests  of  cream  ............  ...........  ....   .758  lbs.  fat 

Gains  on  calculations  of  fat  .....  .................  039  lbs.  fat 

Total  gains  per  100  lbs.  fat  received.  .  .......  .2.056  lbs.  fat 

Total  losses  (see  example  of  actual  overrun  in  farm 
separator  cream  creamery)  .....  .  ..................  .1.000  lbs.  fat 

-  Net  gains  .  .  ..................  ...........  .1.056  lbs.  fat 

Possible  overrun. 

Butter  contains  .....  ............  .  ............  80%  fat 

100 
100  lbs.  fat  make,   -gjj^X  100.  ..  .............  125  lbs.  butter 

Less  fat  ......................  .  .............  100  lbs. 

Overrun  ....................................  25% 

Gain  in  overrun  due  to  losses  &  gains,—    *    '  -  =  1.32% 
Total  possible  overrun  .............  ,  ......  26.32% 


412  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

The  above  example  is  suggestive  of  the  possibilities  and  limi- 
tations of  the  actual  overrun.  Its  purpose  is  not,  to  indicate  what 
the  overrun  should  be,  but  to  invite  the  consideration  of  the  overrun 
from  every  angle  that  influences  it.  This  example  does  not  repre- 
sent any  specific  case,  nor  do  the  gains  shown  represent  maximum 
possible  gains.  On  the  contrary,  the  unrecognized  fractions  re- 
corded here  are  small,  they  might  in  actual  operation  at  times  be 
considerably  larger,  in  which  case  the  increase  in  the  overrun  would 
be  correspondingly  greater.  But  this  example  does  show  that,  pro- 
vided that  the  creamery  operates  on  a  high  standard  of  efficiency,  it 
is  quite  possible  for  the  overrun  to  be  slightly  above  the  maximum 
of  the  theoretical  overrun  which,  with  butter  containing  80%i  fat, 
is  25%. 

In  short,  the  subject  of  overrun  can  be  consistently  considered 
only  in  terms  of  efficiency  and  it  is  through  efficiency  only  that  any 
creamery  can  hope  to  regulate  the  overrun.  The  creamery  that 
expects  to  reliably  regulate  its  overrun  must  aim  at  maximum  effi- 
ciency in  those  many  details  that  so  vitally  affect  the  overrun ;  effi- 
ciency that  makes  for  exhaustiveness  of  churning  and  minimum 
mechanical  losses  on  the  one  hand,  and  correct  weighing  and  testing 
of  cream  and  butter  on  the  other ;  efficiency  that  means  the  record- 
ing of  every  fraction  of  a  pound  of  cream  and  every  fraction  of  a 
per  cent  of  fat  in  the  test,  that  the  standard  equipment  for  weighing 
and  testing  enables  the  operator  to  determine.  This,  practical  ex- 
perience and  careful  experimental  study  have  shown  to  result  in 
an  overrun,  in  which  the  unavoidable  mechanical  losses  are 
largely,  or  wholly,  or  occasionally  even  slightly  more  than 
wholly  offset  by  such  gains  as  may  accumulate  from  the  un- 
determinable and  unrecognized  fractions  in  weights  and  tests. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
MARKETS  AND   MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

Importance. — At  best  the  success  of  all  business  ultimately 
depends  on  its  ability  to  dispose  of  its  products  at  a  satisfactory 
margin.  Successful  marketing  is  an  open  secret  in  all  lines  of 
business  success  and  the  butter  business  is  no  exception  to  this 
rule.  Notwithstanding  this  fact,  the  market  end  of  the  butter 
business  is  a  department  not  infrequently  much  neglected  and 
often  least  understood  by  many  producers  and  manufacturers 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  413 

of  butter  and  causing  annually  vast  sacrifices  in  the  form  of  un- 
satisfactory returns  to  the  farmers  and  creameries  of  this  coun- 
try. 

Essentials  in  Successful  Marketing  of  Butter.  Quality. — 
Quality  is  the  first  and  all  fundamental  requisite  for  successful 
marketing.  Butter  must  be  of  such  quality  that  there  is  a  de- 
mand for  it.  The  consumer  is  the  final  judge  of  quality.  The 
importance  of  quality  is  summarized  most  admirably  in  an  ad- 
dress on  Butter  Markets  by  Mr.  N.  J.  Eschenbrenner1  of  the 
firm  of  Gude  Bros.  &  Kieffer  of  New  York  City  before  the  Dairy 
students  of  Cornell  University  April,  1916,  as  follows:  "In 
summing  up  the  whole  proposition  of  marketing  butter,  it  is 
wholly  a  matter  of  quality.  When  good  butter  is  competing 
against  poorer  grades,  when  high  flavored,  clean  butter  is  com- 
peting against  unclean  flavors,  when  solid,  waxy-bodied  butter 
is  competing  against  weak-bodied,  when  desirable  color,  salt 
and  style  is  competing  against  undesirable  color,  salt  and  style 
and  general  workmanship,  on  a  basis  of  price  and  distribution, 
the  better  grades  get  the  preference  over  the  poorer  grades  and 
the  poorer  grades  are  absorbed  only  after  satisfactory  conces- 
sion has  been  made  in  price." 

While  it  is  true  that  at  times  of  butter  shortage,  when  the 
demand  exceeds  the  supply  and  the  market  is  very  brisk,  the 
difference  in  price  between  different  grades  of  butter  is  relatively 
small,  because  the  average  consumer  is  willing  to  "put-up"  tem- 
porarily with  lower  grades  in  preference  to  going  without  but- 
ter, in  the  long  run  quality  asserts  itself.  Under  normal  market 
conditions  and  when  the  supply  is  equal  to,  or  greater  than  the 
demand,  it  is  the  lower  grades  that  suffer.  On  quality  depends 
the  stability  and  permanency  of  our  butter  markets,  quality  con- 
trols the  consumptive  demand  of  the  public,  quality  determines 
our  ability  to  successfully  meet  competition  with  butter  substi- 
tutes from  within,  and  with  imported  butter  from  without  our 
country,  quality  is  the  key  to  the  establishment  of  satisfactory 
export  markets  abroad  that  will  take  care  of  our  surplus  at 
home,  quality  decides  our  ability  to  pay  the  farmer,  on  whose 
success  the  prosperity  of  the  entire  dairy  industry  depends, 
prices  sufficiently  attractive  to  induce  him  to  keep  on  feeding 

1  Eschenbrenner — Address  on  Butter-Markets,  New  York  Produce  Review 
&  Am.  Creamery,  April,  1916. 


414  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

and  milking  the  dairy  cow,  and  to  interest  himself  in  better 
cows,  better  methods,  larger  production  and  greater  returns  that 
make  for  increased  prosperity  of  the  producer  and  his  family 
and  better  education  for  his  children. 

Knowledge  of  Requirements  of  Different  Markets. — The 
average  consumer  wants  good  butter,  not  always  fancy  butter, 
but  butter  of  clean  flavor,  firm  body,  even  color  and  medium 
salt.  While  butter  of  the  best  quality  brings  the  highest  price 
in  most  markets,  there  is  a  vast  difference  in  the  demands  of 
the  consumers  in  different  markets  of  the  country  and  in  dif- 
ferent sections  of  the  same  market.  Hence  all  wholesalers, 
commission  men  and  jobbers  do  not  cater  to  the  same  class  of 
trade. 

There  is  a  class  of  consumers  who  demand  extra  fine  but- 
ter and  are  willing  to  pay  a  premium  for  it.  The  trade  in  many 
sections  of  the  eastern  markets  is  particularly  critical.  With 
this  class  of  trade  nothing  but  the  best  quality  will  do  'and  lower 
grades  are  not  desired. 

But  there  is  also  another  class  which  considers  price  rather 
than  quality  and  which  is  satisfied  with  butter  that  is  of  fair 
quality.  While  the  creamery  should  concentrate  its  efforts  on 
securing  the  best  possible  quality  of  cream,  and  on  making  the 
best  quality  of  butter  from  it,  under  the  now  prevailing  system 
of  receiving  cream  in  many  sections  of  the  country  and  particu- 
larly in  the  central  west,  it  is  impossible  for  many  creameries 
to  economically  produce  butter  that  grades  above  "extras,"  and 
extreme  efforts  to  improve  the  quality  in  order  to  satisfy  the 
most  critical  trade  under  such  conditions  would  tend  to  prove 
disadvantageous  to  the  financial  success  of  the  creamery,  the 
difference  in  price  received  for  the  butter  not  being  sufficient  to 
offset  the  increased  expense  of  operation  and  the  possible  falling- 
off  of  the  cream  supply.  The  quality  of  the  butter  which  the 
creamery  can  afford  to  produce  under  these  and  similar  circum- 
stances will  depend  upon  the  class  of  trade  it  must  supply. 

The  creamery  that  has  developed  a  local  trade,  that  is  able 
to  sell  its  butter  24  to  48  hours  after  manufacture  and  that  dis- 
tributes it  in  small  quantities,  so  that  the  butter  is  consumed 
within  one  week  or  less  of  the  time  of  manufacture,  may  secure 
top  prices  for  an  89  to  91  point  butter  by  selecting  those  stores 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  415 

that  do  not  supply  a  highly  critical  trade.  In  trade  of  this  kind 
many  of  the  customers  buy  butter  largely  by  the  brand,  they 
believe  in  the  brand  and  if  the  butter  is  fairly  uniform  in  quality 
they  are  satisfied.  Similar  markets  may  be  located  in  the  whole- 
sale trade  of  the  large  consuming  centers  for  the  surplus  butter. 
There  are  wholesale  dealers  in  these  markets  whose  specialty  lies 
in  catering  to  the  less  critical  trade  and  who  therefore  are  in 
a  position  to  dispose  of  the  creamery  shipments  of  butter  of 
only  fair  quality  to  good  advantage.  It  is  to  the  creamery's 
interest  to  study  the  different  channels  through  which  the  grade 
of  butter  which  it  produces  will  net  the  highest  price. 

There  are  times  when  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  for  the 
creamery  to  secure  a  satisfactory  price  on  the  wholesale  market. 
During  the  early  summer  months  when  the  principal  demand  in 
the  larger  markets  is  for  butter  for  storage  purposes,  butter  is 
bought  strictly  on  the  quality  basis  and  sour-cream  butter  is 
not  in  demand,  except  that  from  creameries  which  have  estab- 
lished a  reputation  of  knowing  how  to  handle  such  cream  and 
how  to  manufacture  from  it  a  product  of  dependable  keeping 
quality.  Then  again,  in  August  and  September,  when  the  jobbers 
are  loaded  with  May  and  June  butter  of  good  quality,  and 
which  they  bought  at  low  prices,  the  fresh  midsummer  butter 
is  usually  of  poorer  quality  than  the  May  and  June  butter  placed 
in  storage,  the  demand  for  it  is  very  limited  and  its  sales  are 
often  possible  only  by  offering  it  at  prices  below  those  paid  for 
the  early  summer  butter.  At  the  same  time  midsummer  prices 
of  butterfat  paid  by  the  creamery  are  generally  higher  than 
prices  paid  to  the  farmers  for  May  and  June  butterfat.  This 
combination  of  conditions  therefore  is  prone  to  yield  returns  un- 
satisfactory to  the  creamery.  The  advantage  to  the  creamery 
of  having  direct  connection  with  consumptive  channels  of  dis- 
tribution, such  as  local  and  neighborhood  retail  stores,  is  obvious, 
and  the  creamery  should  aim,  during  unfavorable  periods  of  the 
wholesale  trade  in  the  larger  markets,  to  move  its  lower  grades 
through  these  local  channels. 

The  creamery  which  grades  its  cream  and  churns  the  grades 
separately  may  succeed  in  satisfying  its  more  critical  trade  with 
the  butter  from  the  first  grade  cream.  The  butter  from  the 
second  grade  cream  may  be  sold  to  bakeries  and  confectioners 


416  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

but  it  is  often  preferable  to  sell  the  second  grade  butter  under 
a  special  brand  reserved  for  that  class  of  butter  only ;  frequently 
it  is  possible  to  establish  a  satisfactory  trade  with  acceptable 
returns  with  this  special  brand.  Another,  often  very  desirable 
outlet  for  the  second  grade  cream  is  to  manufacture  it  into  un- 
salted  butter  and  sell  it  to  the  Jewish  trade,  ice  cream  factories 
and  bakeries. 

It  is  obvious  from  the  above  discussion  that,  while  quality 
is  supreme,  the  sucessful  marketing  of  butter  requires  careful 
investigation  and  study  on  the  part  of  the  creamery,  of  the  vari- 
ous market  demands,  and  of  the  channels  of  trade  by  which  these 
demands  may  best  be  supplied.  The  creamery  must  find  and 
supply  that  class  of  trade  which  has  the  greatest  demand  for  its 
butter. 

Uniformity  of  Quality. — Having  succeeded  in  finding  the 
most  advantageous  channels  into  which  to  divert  the  butter,  it 
is  very  important  that  the  creamery  be  able  to  hold  these  mar- 
kets, and  success  at  this  point  in  turn  will  largely  depend  on  the 
maintenance  of  uniformity  of  quantity  and  quality.  The  prob- 
lem of  maintaining  the  quantity  of  the  supply  will  be  discussed 
under  the  heading  of  "Selling  Creamery  Butter  Locally." 

Uniformity  of  quality  is  an  inevitable  demand  which  the 
consumer  exacts.  In  fact  it  is  paramount  in  importance  to  qual- 
ity itself.  The  public  demands  butter  that  is  uniform  in  flavor, 
salt,  color  and  workmanship.  Lack  of  uniformity  makes  the 
consumer  suspicious  and  dissatisfied.  He  feels  that  he  cannot 
depend  on  the  product.  Large  creameries,  who  are  in  a  position 
to  grade  their  butter  closely,  whose  churnings  do  not  vary  in 
size  and  whose  process  of  manufacture  is  carefully  standardized, 
find  little  difficulty  to  supply  the  class  of  trade  which  they  cater 
to,  with  butter  of  fairly  constant  uniformity.  Small  creameries, 
with  their  irregular  churnings  and  often  inadequate  equipment 
and  system  of  manufacture,  are  not  so  fortunate  in  this  respect. 
This  handicap  is  responsible  for  the  frequent  loss  of  an  other- 
wise satisfactory  local  trade  and  for  their  difficulty  in  securing 
satisfactory  returns  from  the  wholesale  and  commission  mar- 
kets. 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  417 

Standardizing  Quality,  Transportation  and  Distribution. — 

In  an  effort  to  overcome  this  handicap,  creameries  located  in 
certain  sections  of  the  country  have  united  into  county  and  dis- 
trict associations.  The  purpose  of  these  cooperative  organiza- 
tions is  to  improve  and  standardize  the  quality  and  uniformity 
of  their  product.  They  employ  a  competent  inspector  whose 
duty  it  is  to  standardize  their  methods  of  manufacture  and  to 
inspect  and  grade  their  butter. 

Some  creameries  have  gone  one  step  farther  in  their  co- 
operative effort,  shipping  cooperatively  in  carload  lots  and 
standardizing  their  methods  of  selling  and  marketing  their 
product  through  the  same  distributing  agency. 

The  output  of  the  individual  small  creamery  is  too  small' 
to  ship  in  carload  lots.  The  average  small  creamery  has  to  hold 
its  butter  for  a  week  or  longer  before  it  can  ship  to  advantage 
and  even  then  it  is  often  difficult  for  the  small  creamery  to  se- 
cure refrigerator  service.  The  holding  of  the  butter  at  the  cream- 
ery with  the  usual  inadequate  facilities  for  keeping  it  cool,  and 
the  lack  of  refrigeration  in  transit,  often  cause  the  butter  to  ar- 
rive at  the  market  in  deteriorated  condition  resulting  in  low 
returns.  Through  intelligent  cooperation  numerous  small  cream- 
eries located  in  fairly  close  proximity  and  situated  on  the  same 
railway  line  are  often  able  to  fill  a  car  once  or  twice  per  week 
and  thus  are  in  a  position  to  secure  prompt  refrigerator  service 
and  at  reasonably  low  cost,  so  that  at  a  reduced  expense  they 
are  in  a  position  to  place  their  butter  on  the  market  fresher  and 
in  better  condition. 

The  standardization  of  methods  of  selling,  is  another  step 
in  the  right  direction,  which  is  entirely  practical  with  proper  co- 
operation of  a  sufficient  number  of  creameries  and  efficient  lead- 
ership. In  some  instances  these  cooperative  efforts  have  re- 
sulted in  the  establishment  and  adoption  of  an  association  stamp 
or  trade  mark.  In  some  states,  viz.,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Iowa 
and  Wisconsin,  with  the  assistance  of  their  respective  State 
dairy  commissioners,  the  creameries  have  established  State 
brands.  .  . 

Marketing  Dairy  Butter. — Dairy  butter,  or  butter  made  on 
the  farm,  is  sold  either  direct  to  the  consumer,  to  private  resi- 
dences, hotels,  restaurants,  boarding  houses,  clubs,  etc.,  who 


418  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

pay  for  it  in  weekly  or  monthly  cash  payments,  or  it  is  sold  to 
the  local  country  store  which  generally  pays  the  farmer  in  trade 
and  not  in  cash.  The  great  bulk  of  dairy  butter  goes  to  the 
country  store.  This  is  a  most  primitive  method  of  marketing 
butter  which  results,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  to  the  dis- 
advantage of  the  dairyman. 

Selling  Creamery  Butter  Locally.---Generally  speaking  the 
best  markets  are  those  nearest  home.  Selling  butter  locally,  either 
to  the  direct  consumer  at  the  door  of  the  creamery,  by  going 
direct  to  residences,  through,  public  or  municipal  markets,  by 
parcel  post,  or  selling  to  local  stores,  or  shipping  direct  to  retail 
stores  in  neighboring  towns  and  cities,  has  many  and  distinct  ad- 
vantages. It  enables  the  creamery  to  reduce  the  number  of  middle- 
men to  the  minimum  or  to  do  without  them  entirely,  thereby 
netting  the  creamery  the  consumer's  or  retailer's  price.  It  saves 
transportation  charges  to  distant  points,  which  may  amount  to 
from  1  to  2  cents  or  more  per  pound  of  butter.  It  protects  the 
butter  against  conditions  unfavorable  to  its  quality  in  transit  and 
reduces  the  interval  between  manufacture  and  consumption, 
thereby  enabling  the  creamery  to  supply  the  consumer  with  butter 
of  better  quality  and  demanding  a  better  price.  It  gives  the  cream- 
ery a  better  opportunity  to  put  "up  its  butter  in  the  final  pack- 
age, the  print,  and  under  its  own  brand,  thereby  establishing 
a  constant  trade  for  its  own  butter  and  usually  at  satisfactory 
prices.  It  protects  the  creamery  against  loss  by  shrinkage. 

In  some  instances  creameries  have  succeeded  in  disposing 
of  part  of  their  regular  output  through  what  is  known  as  the 
club-buying  system.  Clubs  whose  members  are  consumers 
are  organized  by  a  local  individual  in  his  community.  He 
buys  butter  regularly  and  usually  in  sufficiently  large  quantity 
per  shipment,  to  supply  all  the  members  of  his  club.  This  is 
a  very  effective  system  of  reaching  the  consumer  in  distant 
markets  direct,  but  the  amount  of  butter  that  the  creamery 
can  dispose  of  through  this  channel  is  naturally  limited. 

The  chief  difficulty  encountered  by  the  average  small  cream- 
ery in  establishing  and  holding  local  markets  lies  in  the  irregu- 
larity of  the  amount  of  its  output  throughout  the  year  and  the 
fluctuations  in  the  demand  and  supply  of  local  markets. 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  419 

If  the  creamery  establishes  a  local  market  for  all  of  its  out- 
put during  the  flush  of  the  season,  it  invariably  is  confronted 
with  the  difficulty  of  supplying  that  market  during  the  time  of 
shortage,  or  if  the  local  market  takes  care  only  of  the  output 
during  the  time  of  shortage,  then  in  summer,  during  the  heavy 
make,  there  is  a  surplus  of  butter  which  must  be  disposed  of  on 
the  open  market.  This  surplus  is  usually  increased  by  the 
fact  that  during  the  early  summer  months,  when  butter  fat 
prices  are  relatively  low,  considerable  cream  is  churned  on  the 
farms  and  the  creamery  has  to  compete  against  country  butter, 
which  is  usually  offered  for  sale  at  prices  below  creamery 
butter.  At  the  same  time  also  the  consumption  of  butter  in  the 
local  markets  generally  reaches  ebb-tide,  partly  because  of  a 
reduction  of  butter  consumption  per  capita  during-  the  hot 
weather  and  partly  because  many  of  the  consumers  leave  for 
cooler  climes. 

In  order  to  equalize  these  fluctuating  conditions  of  sup- 
ply and  demand  some  creameries  are  buying  butter  on  the  open 
market  during  the  time  of  shortage  to  take  care  of  their  trade, 
while  others  store  some  of  their  surplus  during  the  time  of  flush. 
In  the  buying  of  butter  to  offset  the  shortage  of  output,  the 
greatest  care  should  be  exercised  that  the  quality  of  the 
butter  purchased  is  equal  to  that  of  the  regular  make.  The 
creamery  should  also  make  sure  that  it  complies  with  the  laws 
of  the  state  concerning  the  labeling  of  such  butter.  In  many 
states  the  law  prohibits  the  sale  of  butter  under  the  creamery's 
private  brand,  unless  the  brand  plainly  indicates  that  the  but- 
ter was  not  made  by  that  creamery.  Instead  of  stating  that 
the  butter  is  made  by  the  respective  creamery,  the  wrapper 
should  state  that  the  butter  is  packed  and  distributed  by  the 
respective  creamery. 

The  storing  of  butter  in  the  creamery,  in  order  to  take 
care  of  its  surplus  and  to  hold  it  over  for  the  time  of  shortage, 
is  usually  not  a  practical  proposition  in  the  case  of  the  small 
creamery  Avith  limited  cold  storage  facilities.  Unless  butter 
can  be  kept  at  a  uniform  temperature  of  Zero  degrees  Fahren- 
heit or  below  it  will,  under  average  conditions,  depreciate 
in  value  to  the  extent  to  where  it  can  no  longer  be  sold  to  the 
regular  trade.  If  the  butter  is  made  from  a  good  quality  of 


420  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

cream  it  is  best  stored  in  a  commercial  cold  storage  plant.  If 
it  is  made  from  a  poor  quality  of  cream,  its  storage  is  a  risky 
adventure  under  any  condition.  Furthermore,  the  storing  of 
butter  involves  the  "tying-up"  of  operating  capital  which  is 
often  beyond  the  financial  resources  of  the  small  creamery. 

Experience  has  shown  that  under  average  conditions  of  the 
small  creamery,  it  is  safer  to  dispose  of  its  surplus  as  soon  as 
possible  after  making.  If  the  creamery  exercises  due  caution 
and  foresight  in  making  the  proper  arrangements  for  the  dispo- 
sition of  its  surplus  on  the  open  market,  there  is  no  need  of  seri- 
ous loss  and  it  should  at  least  break  even  with  its  surplus,  pro- 
vided that  the  butter  is  of  a  quality  acceptable  to  the  market 
where  it  is  sold. 

Furthermore,  November  1,  1917,  by  Proclamation  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  Federal  Rules  and  Regulations 
went  into  effect  providing  that  butter,  and  other  food  products 
held  in  cold  storage  longer  than  30  days  shall  be  marked,  either 
on  the  butter  itself,  or  on  the  container,  with  the  words  "Cold 
Storage"  and  shall  be  sold  as  cold  storage  goods.  Similar  regula- 
tions have  also  become  state  laws  in  several  of  the  States.  While 
this  ruling,  which  is  a  War  measure,  remains  in  effect,  the 
creamery  may  find  considerable  difficulty  to  satisfy  its  trade  dur- 
ing the  period  of  shortage  with  butter  placed  into  cold  storage 
during  the  time  of  flush.  June  butter,  made  from  butterfat  that  is 
produced  by  the  cows  during  the  prime  of  their  lactation  period 
and  that  are  feeding  on  nature's  choicest  feed,  succulent  pas- 
ture grass,  is  acknowledged  to  be  superior  in  flavor.  If  man- 
ufactured in  the  proper  manner,  it  generally  is  of  fully  as  good 
quality  when  it  comes  out  of  storage  as  fresh  winter  butter 
which  is  made  largely  from  the  milk  of.  stripper  cows,  and  cows 
receiving  dry  feed.  In  fact,  it  often  is  of  a  quality  distinctly 
superior  to  the  fresh  winter  butter.  From  the  standpoint  of 
quality,  therefore,  cold  storage  butter  may  be  fully  as  desirable 
and  appetizing  as  fresh  winter  butter,  but  the  fact  that  the  pack- 
age bears  the  words  cold  storage,  makes  it  less  attractive  to  the 
average  consumer,  it  arouses  his  suspicion  that  he  is  getting  an 
inferior  article.  For  this  reason,  under  the  cold  storage  ruling, 
the  creamery  may  experience  serious  obstacles  in  its  efforts 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  421 

to  take  care  of  its  regular  trade  during  the  time  of  shortage 
of  fresh  butter,  by  offering-  it  cold  storage  goods  in  the  place  of 
fresh  butter. 

The  large  centralized  creameries  obviously  have  the  ad- 
vantage in  disposing  of  their  output  direct  to  the  retailer.  Their 
output  is  large  enough,  so  that  they  can  afford  to  establish  distri- 
buting offices  in  the  large  markets.  Through  these  distributing 
offices  they  are  able  to  reach  the  retailer  in  distant  consuming 
centers  in  a  similar  way  as  in  the  local  and  home  markets.  These 
distributing  offices  also  serve  as  a  channel  through  which  the 
trend  of  the  market  may  be  accurately  followed,  and  through 
which  that  class  of  trade  may  be  located  that  has  the  greatest 
demand  for  the  quality  of  butter  the  creamery  produces. 

Selling  butter  to  the  wholesale  produce  trade. — The  dis- 
tribution of  vast  quantities  of  the  butter  made,  is  taken  care 
of  by  an  organization  of  middlemen  intermediary  between  the 
shipper  and  the  city  retail  stores.  This  organization  is  known 
as  the  wholesale  trade.  The  wholesale  produce  trade  occupies  an 
important  position  in  supplying  the  shipper  with  a  market  for  his 
product  and  in  regulating  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the 
supply  of  the  retail  store,  in  reducing  the  cost  of  transporta- 
tion by  making  possible  shipments  in  large  units,  in  maintaining 
the  necessary  business  relations  with  the  retail  stores  for  or 
in  the  place  of  the  shipper,  and  in  making  possible  prompt  pay- 
ments so  as  to  enable  the  shipper  to  pay  the  farmer  for  his 
cream  without  delay.  In  other  words,  the  wholesale  produce  trade 
performs  that  function  which  the  shippej — the  creamery — with- 
out branch  offices  in  the  distant  city  markets,  is  unable  to  ac- 
complish. It  acts  as  a  clearing  house  for  the  shipper  and  re- 
tailer alike.  Its  proximity  to  the  distributing  channels  enables 
it  to  feel  the  pulse  of  the  market  in  its  and  other  cities  and  to 
regulate  the  influx  and  movement  of  the  various  grades  of  but- 
ter and  other  commodities  on  the  market. 

The  organization  of  the  wholesale  produce  trade  is  established 
in  all  cities  of  appreciable  size.  According  to  Weld,1  "a  city  is 
large  enough  to  require  a  separate  wholesale  trade  organization 
when  it  can  handle  goods  in  car  lots  for  consumption  in  the  city 

1  Weld,  The  Marketing  of  Farm  Products,  p.  67,  1916, 


422  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

or  for  redistribution  in  nearby  towns."  The  wholesale  produce 
trade  is  always  localized  in  a  certain  district  of  the  city.  Thus 
in  Chicago,  South  Water  Street  represents  the  wholesale  produce 
district  for  that  city. 

The  wholesale  dealers  may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  to 
each  of  which  are  attributed  certain,  more  or  less  definitely 
defined  functions,  namely  the  middlemen  who  receive  goods  direct 
from  the  shipper  and  the  middlemen  who  buy  direct  from  the  re- 
ceivers and  sell  to  the  retail  stores  or  other  outlets. 

To  the  first  class  belong  the  wholesale  receiver,  the  com- 
mission man  and  the  broker.  The  wholesale  receiver  buys  the 
butter  outright  and  pays  the  shipper  for  it  upon  receipt.  He 
sells  the  butter  to  the  retail  store  and  also  to  the  jobber.  The 
commission  man  does  not  buy  the  butter,  he  does  not  become 
owner  of  it,  but  acts  as  an  agent  for  the  shipper,  selling  it  for 
him  to  retail  stores,  hotels,  restaurants,  and  other  outlets  and 
deducting  from  the  gross  receipts  a  commission  for  his  ser- 
vices, together  with  freight  and  cartage  charges.  The  rate  of 
commission  usually  charged  to  the  butter  shipper  is  5  per  cent 
of  the  gross  receipts.  The  broker  operates  on  a  similar  plan 
as  the  commission  man,  but  he  usually  handles  goods  in  larger 
quantities  and  charges  a  lower  rate  of  commission. 

To  the  second  class,  the  middleman  who  buys  from  the 
wholesale  receiver  and  not  direct  from  the  shipper,  belongs  the 
jobber.  He  also  sells  to  the  retail  trade. 

These  middlemen  have  their  organization  of  solicitors  who 
look  after  the  retail  trade  and  other  outlets  in  their  city  as  well 
as  in  other  cities. 

Most  of  the  butter  shipped  to  the  wholesale  trade  is  de- 
sired in  bulk  packages,  usually  60  pound  tubs  or  50  pound 
boxes  for  Eastern  markets  and  68  pound  cubes  for  the  Pacific 
coast  markets.  In  exceptional  cases  the  shippers  put  their  butter 
up  in  the  finished  package,  the  print.  Most  of  the  wholesale 
receivers  have  a  brand  of  their  own,  on  which  they  have  es- 
tablished some  fancy  trade,  and  for  which  they  print  fancy 
butter  and  sell  it  under  their  own  carton. 

Methods  of  Sales. — Butter  shipped  to  the  wholesale  trade 
is  sold  according  to  any  one  of  the  following  four  methods : 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  423 

1.  Track  Sales.— By  track  sale  is  understood  F.  O.  B.  (free 
on  board)  shipping  point.    By  this  method  the  responsibility  of 
the  shipper  ceases  when  the  butter  is  placed  on  the  car,  or  on 
ship  board,  at  the  shipping  point.     The  buyer  pays  the  freight, 
cartage,   assumes   the   risk  of  transportation   and   the   price   is 
definitely  fixed.     From   the   shipper's,   or   creamery's   point   of 
view  this  is  the  most  advantageous  method  of  selling  butter 
to  the  wholesale  trade.    In  order  to  sell  butter  under  this  agree- 
ment the  creamery  must  previously  satisfy  the  receiver  of  the 
uniformity  of  quality,  workmanship,  composition  and  color  of 
butter  the  creamery  is  capable  of  supplying.  This  is  usually  done 
by  trial  shipments.   The  receiver  agrees  to  pay  a  definite  price, 
based  on  market  quotations  of  the  leading  markets   F.  O.   B. 
track.     The  creamery  knows  exactly  what  it  is  going  to   get 
for  its  butter  at  the  time  the  butter  is  shipped  and  payments 
are  made  upon  arrival  of  the  goods  at  the  market. 

2.  Delivered  Sales,  or  F.   O.  B.   Market. — In   this  method 
of  sale  the  shipper's  responsibility  ceases  when  the  butter  has 
reached  the  market  of  the  buyer.  The  shipper  pays  the  freight, 
cartage,  and  assumes  the  risk  of  transportation.    The  price  de- 
pends on  market  prices  on  the  date  of  arrival  of  the  goods  at 
the  market.    Agreements  to  buy  butter  on  the  above  basis  are 
usually  also  entered   into  upon  receipt  of  trial   shipments   rep- 
resentative of    the  quality  of    the  average  run  of    butter  man- 
ufjactured    by   the    contracting   creamery.     While    not   as    ad- 
vantageous   to    the    creamery   as    method    No.    1,   because   the 
price  is  determined  at  the  market  end  and  because  the  shipper 
has  to  pay  the  freight  and  assumes  the  risk  of  transportation, 
this  method  is  by  far  preferable  to  the  commission  sales.  Both, 
in  method  1  and  in  method  2,  the  butter  sells  at  prices  based 
on  market  quotations.     It  is  important  that  prices  should  not 
be  based  on  the  score  of  the  butter.  According  to  methods  1  and 
2  the  buyer  agrees  to  pay  the  price  stipulated  on  the  basis  of 
market  quotations,  as  long  as  he  is  willing  to  accept  the  butter. 
Should  the  butter  of  some  shipments  not  measure  up  in  quality 
to  the  trial  samples,  the  buyer  will  still  pay  the  price  agreed 
upon,  but  will  notify  the  creamery  of  the  defect,  so  it  may  be 
remedied  promptly.   ,In  case  the  quality  continues  to  be  inferior 


424  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

to  that  of  the  trial  shipments,  the  buyer  may  ask  the  creamery 
to  find  another  outlet  for  its  butter,  or  else  negotiate  another 
agreement  satisfactory  to  both  parties. 

3.  Commission  Sales. — The  shipper  pays  the  freight  and 
cartage,  assumes  the  risk  of  transportation  and  the  commission 
man  acts  as  an  agent  to  sell  the  butter  for  which  service  he 
charges  the  shipper  a  commission,  usually  of  5  per  cent,  of  the 
gross  receipts.     This  method  places  the  shipper  at  the  mercy  of 
the  commission  man,  it  deprives  him  of  all  control  over  the  re- 
turns from  his  butter  and  it  is  a  method  which  generally  proves 
very  unsatisfactory  and  costly  to  the  creamery. 

While  there  are  many  reliable  and  trustworthy  men  in  the 
commission  business,  the  temptations  which  surround  the  com- 
mission man  to  abuse  his  power  at  the  expense  of  the  shipper  are 
very  great,  and  are  rinding  many  a  vulnerable  spot  among  their 
members.  Most  commission  men  not  only  act  as  agents  for  the 
shippers,  but  usually  do  also  a  receiver's  business.  On  an  ad- 
vancing market  they  are  encouraged  to  buy  outright,  while  on 
a  declining  market  they  are  prone  to  adhere  to  the  commission 
business  exclusively.  Not  infrequently  they  charge  the  shipper 
a  commission  on  goods  they  purchase  outright  and  thus  receive 
a  commission  on  their  own  purchase.  The  creamery  has  no 
guarantee  that  the  returns  reported  represent  the  price  at  which 
the  butter  actually  sold.  A  business  that  offers  such  unlimited 
opportunities  for  illegitimate  gain  at  the  expense  of  the  power- 
less shipper,  naturally  attracts  an  element  that  is  no  credit  to  the 
profession  and  that  jeopardizes  the  welfare  of  the  shipper. 

4.  Contract  Sales. — By  contract  sales  is  meant  the  method 
whereby  the  shipper  enters  into  a  contract  with  the  dealer  agree- 
ing to  deliver  a  certain  number  of  pounds  of  butter  per  week  at 
a  price  based  on  market  quotations.     The  contracts  are  usually 
short-term  agreements  and  are  largely,  though  not  always,  con- 
fined to  the  storage  season.     Contract  sales  are  usually  taken 
advantage  of  by  large  creameries.    Small  creameries  with  a  lim- 
ited and  often  uncertain  output  are  seldom  in  a  position  to  ne- 
gotiate such  sales  and,  when  consummating  them,  they  are  liable 
to  find  serious  difficulty  in  fulfilling  their  agreement. 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  425 

Speculating  in  Futures. — Buying  or  selling  for  future  de- 
livery is  not  as  common  in  the  butter  business  as  on  the  grain 
market,  though  ,it  is  participated  in  to  a  limited  extent  by  the 
speculative  element  in  most  markets.  The  purpose  of  buying  for 
future  delivery  is  based  on  the  hope  of  the  buyer  to  sell  at  a 
higher  price  at  the  time  of  delivery,  thereby  making  a  profit.  The 
object  of  selling  for  future  delivery  lies  in  the  assumption  of  the 
seller  that  he  may  be  able  to  buy  at  a  reduced  price  and  thereby 
reap  a  profit.  It  is  obvious  that  buying  and  selling  for  future  de- 
livery is  purely  a  speculative  transaction  which  may  yield  profit- 
able returns,  but  which  involves  the  usually  high  risks  char- 
acteristic of  all  speculation. 

Methods  of  Payment. — As  previously  stated,  dairy  butter 
sold  direct  to  customers  or  by  parcel  post,  is  usually  paid  for  by 
cash  on  delivery.  In  the  case  of  hotels,  restaurants,  etc.,  the 
dairy  farmer  usually  collects  weekly  or  monthly  and  sometimes 
at  the  end  of  the  season.  Dairy  butter  sold  to  the  country  store 
is  generally  paid  for  in  trade. 

Creameries  selling  direct  to  retail  stores  make  their  collec- 
tions weekly  or  monthly.  In  the  case  of  doubtful  customers  it  is 
advisable  to  demand  remittance  with  the  order  or  to  deliver  the 
butter  C.  O.  D. 

Payments  for  shipments  to  the  wholesale  trade  in  distant 
markets  involve  more  or  less  delay.  If  butter  is  sold  on  com- 
mission, usually  several  weeks  elapse  before  the  returns  arrive 
and  even  in  the  case  of  "track  sales"  and  "delivered  sales"  several 
days  and  often  one  to  two  weeks  are  required  for  the  payments 
to  arrive.  In  the  meantime  the  farmers  have  to  be  paid  and  the 
supplies  and  package  have  to  be  purchased.  This  is  often  too 
great  a  financial  strain  on  the  creamery  whose  operating  capital 
is  generally  exceedingly  limited. 

This  difficulty  is  most  commonly  taker!  care  of  by  permis- 
sion, on  the  part  of  the  wholesale  receiver  or  the  commission 
man,  to  allow  the  shipper  to  draw  on  him  to  the  extent  of  a  large 
portion  of  the  shipment  of  butter  at  the  time  of  shipment.  The 
creamery  attaches  a  draft  to  the  bill  of  lading  and  the  receiver 
or  commission  man  settles  for  the  balance  upon  arrival  of  the 
goods  or  upon  their  sale,  respectively.  Banks  that  pay  interest 
on  the  balance  of  the  creamery  account,  invariably  discount  these 


426  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

drafts.  Banks  that  pay  no  interest  on  the  creamery  balance,  fre- 
quently accept  the  drafts  without  discounting. 

Butter  Exchanges. — The  butter  exchange  is  a  voluntary 
trade  organization  of  wholesale  dealers  in  butter.  In  many  cases 
the  exchange  is  not  confined  to  butter  alone,  but  includes  other 
allied  commodities,  such  as  cheese,  eggs,  poultry,  etc.  Specific 
examples  of  produce  exchanges  of  dealers  in  butter  or  butter  and 
allied  commodities,  whose  operations  are  recognized  as  having 
the  greatest  influence  upon  the  marketing  of  butter  in  this  coun- 
try, are: 

The  New  York  Mercantile  Exchange,  New  York  City,  N.  Y. 

The  Chicago  Butter  and  Egg  Board,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

The  San  Francisco  Wholesale  Dairy  Produce  Exchange,  San 
Francisco,  California. 

The  Elgin  Board  of  Trade,  Elgin,  Illinois. 

The  Boston  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Boston,  Massachusetts. 
These  produce  exchanges  are  generally  incorporated  associa- 
tions. Weld1  enumerates  the  primary  functions  of  the  produce 
exchange  as  follows: 

"1.     To  provide  a  convenient  market  or  trading  place. 

2.  To  regulate  business  dealings  of  members. 

3.  To  provide  a  system  to  facilitate  the  settlement  of  trade 
disputes. 

4.  To  establish  uniform  grades  and  a  system  of  inspection. 

5.  To  acquire  and  to  disseminate  market  information." 
The  specific  objects  and  functions  of  the  different  exchanges 

cover  a  varying  range.  The  charter  of  the  New  York  Mer- 
cantile Exchange,  for  instance,  records  the  following  ob- 
jects of  the  'Association :  "To  provide  and  regulate  a  suitable 
room  or  rooms  for  an  exchange  in  the  City  of  New  York;  to 
foster  trade;  to  protect  it  against  unjust  or  unlawful  exactions; 
to  reform  abuses;  to  diffuse  accurate  and  reliable  information; 
to  settle  differences  between  members ;  to  promote  among  them 
good  fellowship  and  a  more  enlarged  and  friendly  intercourse; 
and  to  make  provision  for  the  widows  and  families  of  deceased 
members." 

The  realization  of  its  objects  and  the  safeguarding  of  its  pol- 
icies is  accomplished  by  the  careful  supervision  of  admission  of 
new  members. 


1Weld,   The  Marketing  of  Farm  Products,   1916. 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  427 

The  "Call."— One  of  the  important  features  of  the  butter  ex- 
change is  the  "Call."  Weld  defines  the  "Call"  as  "a  device  for 
making  bids  and  offers,  partly  to  establish  market  prices  or 
quotations  and  partly  to  bring  about  actual  sales." 

In  the  larger  markets,  such  as  New  York,  Chicago,  etc.,  the 
traders  assemble  each  day  at  a  fixed  hour  (at  10  a.  m.  in  New 
York  and  Chicago)  for  the  "Call."  The  "Call"  is  usually  con- 
ducted in  a  room  with  a  raised  platform  at  one  end  for  the 
chairman,  and  a  blackboard  at  the  back,  on  which  are  recorded 
receipts  of  the  day,  general  market  conditions  and  the  bids  and 
offers  made  under  the  call.  After  the  offers  for  sale  made  by 
the  traders,  including  quantity,  quality  and  price,  are  posted  on 
the  blackboard,  bids  are  called  for.  The  bids  are  also  posted. 
The  members  of  the  Exchange  appear  on  the  floor  and  buyers 
and  sellers  make  public  bids  on  the  offers  of  butter.  Often  these 
bids  and  offers  result  in  sales  and  these  sales  show  in  a  public 
manner  the  prices  at  which  receivers  are  willing  to  sell  their 
butter  and  the  prices  at  which  buyers  are  willing  to  purchase  it. 

The  bidding  under  the  "Call"  affords  competitive  sellers  an, 
opportunity  to  sell  butter  against  each  other  according  to  the 
supply.  Should  there  be  more  demand  for  butter  on  any  one 
day  at  a  price  above  the  quotation  of  the  previous  day,  the  quo- 
tation will  be  advanced  to  such  a  point  as  buyers  are  paying  for 
the  butter,  for  the  buyers  will  not  stand  for  any  quotation  that 
is  lower  than  the  price  they  are  actually  paying  for  butter.  The 
same  principle  applies  to  the  sellers.  Should  the  sellers  be 
loaded  down  with  butter,  it  is  their  privilege  to  offer  it  at  such 
prices  at  which  and  until  the  buyers  will  take  hold,  and  often- 
times with  the  market  stocked  with  butter,  it  is  necessary  to 
sell  it  at  prices  where  the  retailers  will  be  able  to  reduce  their 
selling  price  to  the  consumer.  In  this  way  the  consumer  be- 
comes interested  in  consuming  more  butter  and  the  surplus  stock 
becomes  disposed  of. 

The  actual  sales  and  purchases  made  under  the  "Call"  are 
few.  According  to  Eschenbrenner1  they  sometimes  do  not  ex- 
ceed 5  per  cent  of  the  daily  receipts  of  butter,  the  primary 
object  of  the  "Call"  being  to  feel  market  conditions  rather  than 
make  specific  sales.  The  present  tendency  of  the  butter  trade 

1  Eschenbrenner,  New  York  Produce  Review,  April,  1916. 


428  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

is  toward  conducting  its  transactions  through  the  medium  of 
private  sales.  The  great  bulk  of  butter  handled  by  members 
of  the  Exchange  is  not  sold  under  the  "Call,"  but  by  private 
deals  between  buyers  and  sellers.  This  situation  is  largely  the 
result  of  the  increasing  differentials  of  grades  and  the  develop- 
ment of  special  markets  for  special  grades,  for  which  butter  from 
special  creameries  is  demanded.  The  "Call,"  however,  serves  in 
many  instances  as  a  convenient  means  for  the  seller  who  has  a 
surplus,  to  find  a  buyer  and  for  the  buyer  in  case  of  shortage 
of  any  particular  grade  of  butter  to  locate  a  seller  of  that  grade. 
Considerable  trading  is  also  usually  done  privately  between 
members  at  the  conclusion  of  the  "Call"  and  before  the  meeting 
adjourns. 

Butter  Quotations. — The  problem  of  determining  butter 
quotations  is  a  subject  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  entire 
butter  industry.  Butter  quotations,  in  order  to  be  correct,  should 
coincide  with  the  actual  market  value  of  the  butter.  They  should 
therefore  be  determined  by  the  supply  and  demand  of  butter, 
otherwise  they  may  be  conducive  of  serious  disturbances  in  the 
normal  movement  of  butter  on  the  market,  which  disturbance^ 
are  bound  to  operate  against  the  best  interests  of  the  butter 
business. 

Limited  space  does  not  permit  here  a  detailed  discussion 
of  the  multitude  of  agencies  through  which  price  quotations  are 
established,  but  the  importance  of  the  subject  justifies  a  brief 
reference  to  the  prevailing  systems  of  determining  butter  quo- 
tations in  a  few  of  the  leading  butter  markets  of  the  country. 
These  references  are  confined  here  to  the  New  York,  Chicago 
and  Elgin  quotations. 

Formerly  the  New  York  and  Chicago  quotations  were  de- 
termined by  a  committee  of  the  New  York  Mercantile  Exchange 
and  the  Chicago  Butter  Board,  respectively.  These  committees, 
consisting  of  dealers,  being  in  most  intimate  touch  with  the 
market  and  with  the  actual  market  value  of  the  butter,  were  as- 
sumed to  be  admirably  qualified  to  arrive  at  just  and  correct 
quotations.  They  met  each  day  at  the  conclusion  of  the  "Call" 
behind  closed  doors. 

"This  same  practice  obtained  abroad  and  even  in  Denmark 
butter  quotations  decided  upon  by  the  Copenhagen  merchants 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  429 

are  still  largely  used  as  a  basis  of  settlement  with  creameries. 
But  in  this  country  quotations  made  by  price  committees  of 
merchants  have  not  been  looked  upon  with  favor  by  govern- 
ment officials,  especially  when  they  did  not  accurately  repre- 
sent prevailing  values,  and  it  was  usually  found  that  the  tend- 
ency of  most  price  committees  of  merchants  was  to  keep  the 
official  quotations  below  prevailing  selling  values.  Several  of 
our  trade  organizations  were  thus  forced  by  the  government  to 
discontinue  the  so-called  official  quotations,  but  some  still  con- 
tinue the  practice."1 

In  1907  the  Mercantile  Exchange  of  New  York  was  sued  by 
the  Government  on  the  ground  of  fraudulent  manipulation  of 
quotations,  with  the  result  of  prohibiting  the  Exchange  from 
issuing  quotations  not  representing  the  value  of  butter  based  on 
actual  sales  by  first  hand  receivers.  In  a  decision  rendered  by 
the  Supreme  Court  it  was  decided  that  this  quotation  committee 
was  a  combination  in  restraint  of  trade  and  the  practice  was 
decided  to  be  illegal.  Realizing  that  the  actual  sales  under  the 
"Call"  of  the  Exchange  were  too  small  to  justify  the  basing  of 
quotations  on  these  sales,  the  Exchange  discontinued  the  issu- 
ance of  official  quotations  and  the  determination  of  price  quo- 
tations was  assumed  by  outside  market  reporters. 

Since  then  the  firm  of  Urner-Barry  Company,  with  the  help 
of  a  most  efficient  force  of  trained  market  reporters,  has  as- 
sumed the  responsibility  of  establishing  daily  price  quotations 
in  New  York.  After  the  "Call"  each  day,  having  taken  into  con- 
sideration the  bids  and  offers  under  the  "Call,"  the  market  re- 
porter makes  a  canvass  of  the  market,  calling  on  the  buyers  and 
sellers  and  ascertaining  the  prices  at  which  they  are  doing  busi-* 
ness  through  private  negotiations;  then,  at  about  noon  each 
day  he  announces  the  quotations  .he  will  publish  in  his  paper 
for  the  various  grades  of  butter.  These  quotations  are  accepted 
as  the  settling  basis  for  the  day  and  these  are  the  quotations 
that  are  sent  broadcast  throughout  the  country. 

In  Chicago  the  quotation  committee  met  a  similar  fate,  the 
courts  prohibiting  its  functions,  unless  quotations  were  made  on 
the  basis  of  actual  sales,  and  the  making  of  butter  quotations 
passed  into  the  hands  of  outside  market  reporters. 

1  Making  Quotations — Comments,  The  Buttermakers'  Discussion  Club, 
New  York  Produce  Review,  July  12,  1916. 


430  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

The  Elgin  Board  also  changed  its  method  of  determining 
quotations  to  issuing  them  on  the  basis  of  actual  sales  made  at 
weekly  meetings  of  the  board.  In  some  markets,  however,  the 
committee  system  of  issuing  quotations  still  prevails. 

The  chief  reason  why  quotation  committees  proved  unsat- 
isfactory and  which  led  finally  to  their  discontinuation  in  Chi- 
cago and  New  York  was  the  fact  that  these  committees  repre- 
sented largely  only  the  wholesale  receivers.  The  receiver  nat- 
urally is  interested  in  buying  as  cheaply  as  possible  and  this 
created  a  tendency  for  the  establishment  of  quotations  lower 
than  the  actual  sales  value  of  the  butter,  with  its  undesirable 
results  on  the  market,  such  as  dissatisfaction  among  retailers 
who  could  not  understand  the  great  difference  between  the 
prices  they  had  to  pay  and  the  butter  quotations  of  the  commit- 
tee, it  also  invited  the  practice  of  paying  premiums  to  the  ship- 
per, etc. 

The  exceedingly  small  sales  on  the  floor  of  the  Exchange 
did  not  justify  the  price  determinations  on  the  basis  of  the  actual 
sales  of  the  Exchange,  hence  the  only  logical  alternative  ap- 
peared to  be  for  the  Exchange  to  turn  the  responsibility  of  mak- 
ing price  quotations  over  to  independent  market  reporters.  In 
the  case  of  the  Elgin  quotations  the  discontinuation  of  the  Elgin 
board  would  have  meant  the  discontinuation  of  Elgin  quota- 
tions, because  the  Elgin  market  itself  is  a  negligible  quantity, 
so  the  only  means  to  save  the  Elgin  quotation  was  to  comply 
with  the  order  of  the  courts  and  issue  quotations  on  actual  sales 
by  the  board,  in  order  not  to  deprive  the  large  sections  of  the 
country  doing  business  on  the  Elgin  basis,  of  the  Elgin  market 
to  which  they  have  become  accustomed  as  a  trading  basis. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  market  reporter,  assuming  the  re- 
sponsibility of  making  price  quotations,  is  thus  vested  with  vast 
powers,  the  abuse  of  which  for  his  own  interests,  or  through 
incompetence,  would  throw  the  market  into  a  most  chaotic  con- 
dition. In  the  first  place,  the  market  reporter  must  be  a  man  of 
ability,  experience  and  judgment.  He  gets  his  information  by 
going  around  among  the  trade  and  must  be  able  to  distinguish 
between  gossip  and  facts  and  between  fiction  and  the  truth. 
Aside  from  the  condition  of  supply  and  demand  he  must  cope 
with  the  difficulties  of  the  influence  on  the  demand  for  and  sup- 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  431 

ply  of  storage  butter,  on  the  market  value  of  fresh  goods,  and 
he  must  above  all  be  a  man  of  superior  integrity,  honesty  and 
disinterestedness. 

Inspection  and  Grading. — Upon  its  arrival  in  the  wholesale 
receiver's  hands  the  butter  is  inspected  and  graded.  Butter  deal- 
ers have  agreed  to  a  standard  score  card  with  100  points  as  the 
basis  for  perfection,  and  giving  certain  values  to  flavor  and 
odor,  body  and  texture,  color,  salt,  and  package. 

Most  butter  exchanges  in  the  larger  markets  have  an  offi- 
cial inspector  of  butter,  whose  services  are  available  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  exchange,  for  compensation.  Butter  so  inspected  is 
branded  with  the  official  stamp  of  the  exchange.  The  inspector 
of  the  New  York  Mercantile  Exchange  has  a  stamp  of  different 
shape  for  each  main  grade,  so  as  to  facilitate  the  recognition 
of  the  grade  by  the  stamp.  The  great  bulk  of  the  butter  re- 
ceived by  the  wholesale  distributors  of  the  larger  markets  is  not 
subjected  to  an  official  inspection  by  the  inspector  employed  by 
the  wholesale  trade  organization.  Sales,  on  the  negotiation  of 
which  official  inspection  is  not  requested,  are  commonly  spoken 
of  as  being  "over-the-trier."  The  inspection  service  maintained 
by  the  Exchange  is  largely,  if  not  entirely,  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
specting those  lots  of  butter  of  which  inspection  is  requested 
by  the  butter,  when  purchased  under  the  "Call,"  as  for  instance  in 
the  case  of  dispute  between  the  seller  and  buyer  as  to  grade,  or 
in  the  case  of  butter  sold  to  the  Government. 

When,  in  the  opinion  or  judgment  of  the  buyer  the  butter 
he  receives  does  not  conform  in  quality  with  the  grade  he  pur- 
chased under  the  "Call,"  he  has  the  privilege  to  apply  for  the 
services  of  the  official  inspector.  If  the  decision  of  the  inspector 
is  not  acceptable  to  either  or  both  of  the  contracting  parties,  an 
appeal  may  be  made  from  the  decision  of  the  inspector,  to  the 
chairman  of  the  Butter  Committee,  who  then  appoints  three 
members  from  that  committee  to  inspect  the  butter  in  dispute. 
They  report  their  results  to  the  Superintendent  of  the  Exchange. 
The  decision  of  this  subcommittee  is  final. 

While  there  are  minor  variations  in  the  grades  and  grading 
of  butter  on  the  different  markets,  as  a  whole  the  classification  of 
grades  is  very  similar  in  the  principal  markets  throughout  the 
country. 


432  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

BUTTER  RULES  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  MERCANTILE 

EXCHANGE.1 

Classifications — Grades  and  Scores. 

1.  Butter  shall  be  classified  as  Creamery,  Renovated,  La- 
dles, Packing  Stock  and  Grease  Butter. 

Definitions. — 2.  Creamery. — Butter  offered  under  this  class- 
ification shall  have  been  made  in  a  creamery  from  cream  sepa- 
rated at  the  creamery  or  gathered  from  farmers. 

3.  Renovated. — Butter  offered  under  this  classification  shall 
be  such  as  is  made  by  melting  butter,  clarifying  the  fat  there- 
from and  rechurning  the  same  with  fresh  milk,  cream  or  skim- 
milk,  or  other  similar  process. 

4.  Ladles. — Butter  offered  under  this  classification  shall  be 
such  as  is  collected  in  rolls,  lumps,  or  in  whole  packages  and 
reworked  by  the  dealer  or  shipper. 

5.  Packing   Stock. — Butter   offered    under   this    classifica- 
tion shall  be  original  farm-made  butter  in  rolls,  lumps  or  other- 
wise, without  additional  moisture  or  salt. 

6.  Grease  Butter  shall  comprise  all  classes  of  butter  grad- 
ing below  thirds,  or  of  packing  stock  grading  below  No.  3,  as 
hereinafter  specified,  free  from  adulteration. 

Grades. — 7.  Creamery.  Renovated  and  Ladles,  shall  be  grad- 
ed as  Extras,  Firsts,  Seconds  and  Thirds;  and  Packing  Stock 
shall  be  graded  as  No.  1,  No.  2  and  No.  3. 

Definition  of  Grades. — 8.  Grades  of  Butter  must  conform  to 
the  following  requirements. 

Extras. — 9.  Shall  be  a  standard  grade  of  average  fancy  qual- 
ity in  the  season  when  offered  under  the  various  classifications. 
Ninety  per  cent,  shall  conform  to  the  following  standard;  the 
balance  shall  not  grade  below  Firsts : 

Flavor. — Must  be  sweet,  fresh  and  clean  for  the  season 
when  offered  if  Creamery,  or  sweet,  fresh  and  reasonably  clean 
if  Renovated  or  Ladles. 

Body. — Must  be  firm  and  uniform. 

Color. — Not  higher  than  natural  grass,  nor  lighter  than  light 
straw,  but  should  not  be  streaked  or  mottled. 

Salt. — Medium  salted. 


1  Secured  through  courtesy  of  New  York  Produce  Review  and  Am.  Cream- 
ery, April,  1919. 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  433 

Package. — Sound,  good,  uniform  and  clean. 

Firsts. — 10.  Shall  be  a  grade  next  below  Extras  and  must 
be  good  butter  for  the  season  when  made  and  offered,  under  the 
various  classifications.  Ninety  per  cent,  shall  conform  to  the 
following  standard ;  the  balance  shall  not  grade  below  Seconds : 

Flavor. — Must  be  reasonably  sweet,  reasonably  clean  and 
fresh  if  Creamery  or  Renovated,  and  reasonably  sweet  if  La- 
dles. 

.    Body. — Must  be  firm  and  fairly  uniform. 

Color. — Reasonably  uniform,  neither  very  high  nor  very 
light. 

Salt. — May  be  reasonably  high,  light  or  medium. 

Package. — Sound,  good,  uniform  and  clean. 

Seconds. — 11.  Shall  be  a  grade  next  below  Firsts. 

Flavor. — Must  be  reasonably  good. 

Body. — If  Creamery,  must  be  solid  boring.  If  Ladles  or 
Renovated,  must  be  ninety  per  cent,  solid  boring. 

Color. — Fairly  uniform,  but  may  be  mottled. 

Salt. — May  be  '  high,  medium  or  light. 

Package. — Good  and  uniform. 

Thirds. — 12.  Shall  be  a  grade  below  Seconds  and  may  con- 
sist of  promiscuous  lots. 

Flavor. — May  be  off-flavored  and  strong  on  tops  and  sides 

Body. — Not  required  to  draw  a  full  trier. 

Color. — May  be  irregular  or  mottled. 

Salt. — High,  light  or  irregular. 

Package. — Any  kind  of  package  mentioned  at  time  of  sale. 

13.     (For  grades  higher  than  Extras  see  paragraph  No.  25.) 

No.  1  Packing  Stock. — 14.  Shall  be  sweet  and  sound,  packed 
in  large,  new,  or  good  uniform  second-hand  barrels,  having  a 
wooden  head  in  each  end,  or  in  new  tubs,  either  to  be  parchment 
paper-lined.  Barrels  and  tubs  to  be  packed  full. 

No.  2  Packing  Stock. — 15.  Shall  be  reasonably  sweet  and 
sound,  and  may  be  packed  in  promiscuous  or  different  kinds  of 
barrels,  tubs  or  tierces,  without  being  parchment  paper  lined, 
and  may  be  packed  in  either  two-headed  or  cloth-covered  bar- 
rels. 

No.  3  Packing  Stock. — 16.  Shall  be  a  grade  below  No.  2,  and 
may  be  off-flavored,  or  strong;  may  be  packed  in  any  kind  or 
kinds  of  packages. 


434  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

17.  Charges  for  inspection  of  Packing  Stock  shall  be  the 
same  as  the  rules  call  for  on  other  grades. 

18.  Mold. — There  shall  be  no  grade  for  butter  that  shows 
mold. 

Known  Marks. — 19.  Known  marks  shall  comprise  such  but- 
ter as  is  known  to  the  trade  under  some  particular  mark  or  des- 
ignation and  must  grade  as  Extras  or  better  if  Creamery  or  Ren- 
ovated, and  as  Firsts  or  better  if  Ladles  in  the  season  when  of- 
fered unless  otherwise  specified.  Known  marks  to  be  offered  tin- 
der the  call  must  previously  have  been  registered  in  a  book  kept 
by  the  Superintendent  for  that  purpose.  If  Renovated,  the  fac- 
tory district  number  and  statement  be  registered. 

Scoring. — 20.  The  standard  official  score  shall  be  as  follows 
and  shall  apply  to  Creamery  Butter  only : 

Flavor    45  points 

Body 25  points 

Color    15  points 

Salt 10  points 

Style    5  points 

100  points 

21.  Extra  Creamery  may  score  either  91,  92  or  93  points  at 
the  discretion  of  the  Butter  Committee,  who  shall  determine  the 
required  score  from  time  to  time  in  such  manner  that  it  shall 
represent  an  average  fancy  quality  in  the  season  when  offered. 
But  butter  scoring  more  than  required  for  Extras  shall  be  de- 
liverable on  a  contract  for  Extras,  and  may  be  branded  as  such  at 
the  request  of  seller,  or  buyer.  Any  change  in  the  Standard  score 
required  for  Extras  shall,  after  authorization  by  the  Butter  Com- 
mittee, be  announced  by  the  caller  at  the  opening  of  the  next 
regular  call  and  posted  upon  the  bulletin  board  of  the  Exchange 
and  be  effective  24  hours  later. 

22.  The  minimum  score  of  Firsts  shall,  at  all  times,  be  4 
points  below  the  score  required  for  Extras. 

23.  The  minimum  score  of  Seconds  shall  be  5  points  below 
the  minimum  score  required  for  Firsts. 

24.  The  minimum  score  of  Thirds  shall  be  7  points  below 
the  minimum  score  required  for  Seconds. 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  435 

BUTTER  RULES  OF  THE  CHICAGO  BUTTER  AND  EGG 

BOARD.1 

Packages  to  be  Used. 
Creamery,  Centralized  Creamery  or  Held  Butter: — 

Tubs — hardwood  about  sixty  (60)  pounds  standard,  White 
Ash  with  wood — or  satisfactory  metal  hoops,  or  boxes  of  sat- 
isfactory material;  thickness  of  material  shall  not  be  less 
than  9/16"  for  sides  and  ends  and  5/16"  for  tops  and  bot- 
toms ;  boxes  shall  have  net  capacity  of  not  over  seventy  (70) 
pounds  or  less  than  sixty  (60)  pounds.  All  tubs  or  boxes 
should  be  paraffined  and  lined  with  parchment  paper. 

Ladles    Tubs  or  boxes. 

Renovated    Tubs  or  boxes. 

Packing  Stock Any  size  or  style  of  package. 

Grease  Butter Any  size  or  style  of  package. 

Classifications,  Grades  and  Scores. 

1.  Butter  shall  be  classified  as  Creamery,  Centralized  Cream- 
ery, Held  Butter,  Renovated,   Ladles,  Packing  Stock  and 
Grease  Butter. 

Definitions. 

2.  Creamery.     Butter  offered  under  this  classification  must  be 
made  in  a  creamery.    The  cream  shall  either  be  separated 
at  the  creamery  or  hauled  direct  to  the  factory  from  the 
farms. 

3.  Centralized  Creamery.    Butter  offered  under  this  classifica- 
tion must  be  made  in  a  creamery.    Cream  used  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  this  butter  may  be  gathered  direct  from  the 
farmers  or  shipped  in  from  cream  stations. 

4.  Held  Butter.     Butter  offered  under  this  classification  shall 
be  butter  that  has  become  Cold  Storage  Butter  by  virtue  of 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  or  of  the  State  in  which  such 
butter  is  sold. 

5.  Renovated.     Butter  offered  under  this  classification  shall 
be  such  as  is  made  by  melting  butter,  clarifying  the  fat1 
therefrom  and  re-churning  the  same  with  fresh  milk,  cream, 
or  skimmilk,  or  other  similar  process. 

1  Secured  through  courtesy  of  Chicago  Dairy  Produce,  April,   1919. 


436  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

6.  Ladles.     Butter  offered  under  this  classification   shall   be 
such  as  is  collected  in  rolls,  lumps,  or  in  whole  packages 
and  re-worked  by  the  dealer  or  shipper. 

7.  Packing    Stock.     Butter    offered    under   this    classification 
shall  be  original  butter  without  additional  moisture  or  salt, 
from  creamery  or  dairy  (but  may  be  from  miscellaneous 
sources),   which   has   been   collected   in   any   quantity   and 
packed  in  barrels,  tubs  or  other  containers.     It  must  be  of 
quality  fit  for  human  consumption  as  food  and  free  from 
adulteration. 

8.  Grease    Butter.     Butter    offered    under    this    classification 
shall  consist  of  all  grades  of  butter  below  thirds.     If  Pack- 
ing Stock,  below  No.  3,  free  from  adulteration. 

Grades. 

9.  Creamery,  Centralized  Creamery  and  Held  Creamery  shall 
be  graded   Extras,   Standard,   First,   Seconds,  and   Thirds; 
Renovated  and  Ladles  as  Firsts  and  Seconds;  and  Packing 
Stock  as  Number  1,  Number  2.  and  Number  3. 

10.  Grades  of  butter  must  conform  to  the  following  require- 
ments : 

Extras. 

11.  Shall  be  a  grade  of  creamery  of  average  fancy  quality  in 
the  season  when  offered  under  the  classifications.    Ninety 
per  cent  shall  conform  to  the  following  standard,  the  bal- 
ance shall  not  grade  below  ninety  points: 

Flavor:  Must  be  sweet,  fresh  and  clean  for  the  season 
when  offered  in  Creamery,  and  sweet  a,nd  clean  in  Held. 
Body:  Must  be  firm  and  uniform.  Color:  Must  be  either 
light  straw  color,  medium  or  high,  but  must  be  uniform 
and  neither  streaked,  or  mottled.  Salt:  May  be  defined  as 
light,  medium  or  high,  but  must  not  be  gritty.  Package: 
New,  sound,  good,  uniform  and  clean. 

Standards. 

12.  Shall  be  a  grade  of  centralized  creamery  of  average  fancy 
quality  in  the  season  when  offered.  Ninety  per  cent  shall 
conform  to  the  following  standard   and   the   balance   shall 
not  grade  below  eighty-nine  points: 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTKR  437 

Flavor:  Must  be  sweet,  fresh  and  clean,  and  sweet  and 
clean  if  Held. 

Body:  Must  be  firm  and  uniform.  Color:  Must  be  either 
light  straw  color,  medium,  or  high,  but  must  be  uniform, 
and  neither  streaked  nor  mottled.  Salt:  May  be  denned  as 
light,  medium  or  high,  but  must  not  be  gritty.  Package: 
New,  sound,  good,  uniform  and  clean. 

Firsts. 

13.  Shall  be  a  grade  below  Extras  and  must  be  good  butter 
for  the  season  when  made  and  offered  under  the  classifica- 
tions. Ninety  per  cent  shall  conform  to  the  following  stand- 
ard, the  balance  shall  not  grade  below  eighty-seven  score : 
Flavor:    Must  be  reasonably  sweet,  reasonably  clean,  and 
fresh  if  Creamery,  Centralized  Creamery,  Renovated,  and 
reasonably  sweet  and  clean  if  Held.    Body:    Must  be  firm 
and   fairly  uniform.     Color:    Reasonably    uniform,  neither 
very  high  nor  very  light.      Salt:   May  be  light,  medium  or 
high.    Package:  New,  sound,  good,  uniform  and  clean.    If 
Ladles,   must  be   ninety   per  cent   solid   boring,   color   rea- 
sonably uniform  and  package  sound  and  clean. 

Seconds. 

14.  Shall  be  a  grade  below  Firsts.   Flavor:   Must  be  reasonably 
good.     Body:    If  Creamery,  Centralized  Creamery,  or  Held 
must  be  solid  boring.     If  Renovated  or  Ladles,  must  be 
ninety  per  cent  solid  boring.    Color:    Fairly  uniform,  but 
may  be   mottled.    Salt:    May  be   light,   medium   or  high. 
Package:   Good  and  uniform. 

Thirds. 

15.  Shall  be  a  grade  below  seconds  and  may  consist  of  promis- 
cuous lots.    Flavor:  May  be  off  flavored  and  strong  on  tops 
and  sides  but  not  rancid.    Body:    Not  required  to  draw  a 
full  trier.     Color:  May  be  irregular  or  mottled.  Salt:  High, 
light  or  irregular.    Package:    Any  kind  of  package  men- 
tioned at  the  time  of  sale. 

No.  1  Packing  Stock. 

16.  Shall  be  original  butter  without  additional  moisture  or  salt, 
sweet  and  sound,  packed  in  barrels,  or  in  tubs  or  boxes,  to 
be  parchment  paper-lined ;  packages  to  be  packed  full. 


438  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

No.  2  Packing  Stock. 

17.  Shall  be  original  butter  without  additional  moisture  or  salt, 
sweet  and  sound,  may  be  packed  in  different  kinds  of  bar- 
rels, tierces,  pails,  tubs  or  boxes;  may  be  without  paper 
lining. 

No.  3   Packing  Stock. 

18.  Shall  be  a  grade  or  quality  above  Grease  butter  and  packed 
in  any  kind  or  all  kinds  of  packages. 

Scoring. 

19.  The  standard  official  score  for  salted  butter  shall  be  as  fol- 
lows: 

Flavor   45  points 

Body 25  points 

Color   15  points 

Salt 10  points 

Style    5  points 

20.  The  standard  official  score  for    unsalted  creamery  butter 
shall  be  as  follows : 

Flavor  45  points 

Body   30  points 

Color   15  points 

Style   10  points 

Extras. 

21.  Shall  consist  of  a  grade  of  butter  scoring  ninety-two  points 
or  better. 

Standards. 

22.  Standards  shall  consist  of  the  highest  grade  of  Centralized 
Creamery  made  during  the  season  when  offered  and  shall 
score  ninety  points  or  better. 

Firsts. 

23.  The  minimum  score  of  Creamery  Firsts  shall  at  all  times 
be  four  points  below  the  score  required  for  Extras. 

Seconds. 

24.  The  minimum   score  of  Creamery  Seconds   shall  be  four 
points  below  the  minimum  score  required  for  Firsts. 

Thirds. 

25.  The  minimum  score  of  Creamery  Thirds  shall  be  five  points 
below  the  minimum  score  for  Seconds. 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  439 

Distribution. — The  distribution  of  butter  to  the  retail  trade 
on  the  large  markets  is  a  class  of  work  which  is  the  business  of 
the  jobber.  The  jobber  buys  from  the  wholesale  receiver,  com- 
mission merchant  or  broker  and  sells  to  retail  stores,  hotels,  res- 
taurants, steamship  companies,  Pullman  car  companies  and 
other  retail  outlets.  The  jobbers  are  also  frequently  termed  re- 
tailers because  they  sell  to  the  retail  stores.  Jobbers  who  have 
no  established  place  of  business  but  load  the  goods  they  buy 
from  the  wholesale  receivers  on  their  wagons  and  peddle  them 
among  .the  retail  stores,  are  called  "wagon  men." 

In  reality  the  jobbers  are  not  the  only  middlemen  who  dis- 
tribute the  butter  to  the  retail  men.  Many  of  the  wholesale  re- 
ceivers and  of  the  commission  men  also  sell  to  the  retail  trade. 

While  some  of  the  butter  is  sold  from  the  wagon  direct  to 
the  hotel  and  restaurant  trade,  and  through  other  similar  di- 
rect outlets,  the  great  bulk  of  the  butter  reaches  the  consumer 
through  the  medium  of  the  grocery  store. 

The  houses  selling  to  the  retail  trade  have  in  their  employ  a 
force  of  salesmen  canvassing  the  city.  They  call  on  the  grocery 
trade  at  regular  intervals,  such  as  once  per  week,  soliciting 
their  business.  The  houses  selling  to  the  retail  stores  are  very 
numerous  in  the  large  markets  and  competition  is  usually  very 
keen,  so  that  constant  soliciting  is  indispensable  in  order  to  hold 
the  trade. 

As  previously  stated,  the  butter  passes  through  the  hands  of 
several  middlemen,  first  the  railroad,  then  the  wholesale  receiver, 
or  the  commission  man,  then  the  jobber  and  finally  the  retail 
store.  When  the  wholesaler  sells  direct  to  the  retailer  the  job- 
ber drops  out  of  the  chain  of  steps  through  which  the  butter 
moves  in  its  passage  from  the  creamery  to  the  consumer.  Occa- 
sionally the  broker  also  enters  into  the  chain  of  agencies  through 
which  butter  passes.  The  broker  handles  large  quantities  only, 
he  does  not  take  possession  of  the  goods  but  acts  in  a  similar 
capacity  as  the  commission  man,  and  his  overhead  expense  is 
very  low.  He  is  therefore  able  to  handle  butter  at  a  very  low 
rate  of  commission,  usually  not  over  J  of  1  cent  per  pound. 
He  may  represent  the  buyer  or  the  seller.  His  services  are  en- 
gaged most  often  when  the  buyer  or  seller  is  located  at  a  great 
distance  from  the  place  where  the  butter  is  to  be  bought  or 


440  MARKETING  o£  BUTTER 

sold,  and  the  party  who  is  trying  to  buy  or  sell  is  not  familiar 
with  prospective  customers  in  the  distant  market. 

Frequently  the  wholesale  receivers  or  the  commission  men 
have  their  butter  printed  by  the  so-called  ''butter  cutters."  These 
men  have  the  equipment  for  printing  butter  and  receive  a  small 
commission  for  their  services.  Again,  there  are  firms  with  chain 
stores,  whose  buyers  may  purchase  their  entire  supply  of  butter 
from  the  wholesale  receiver,  or  the  commission  man. 

Finally,  there  is  the  speculative  buyer  of  butter.  He  may 
be  a  part  of  the  butter  business,  the  creamery,  the  wholesale  re- 
ceiver, the  commission  man,  the  jobber,  etc.  But  quite  often 
he  belongs  to  a  class  generally  not  handling  butter  as  a  main 
business,  but  largely  or  wholly  only  for  speculation  on  the  side. 
Thus,  especially  during  the  storage  season,  when  butter  prices 
are  at  ebbtide,  individuals  in  diverse  walks  of  life,  buy  butter 
and  put  it  in  storage  with  the  hope  of  reaping  a  profit  when  butter 
prices  are  high.  This  type  of  speculative  buyer  represents  an  ele- 
ment that  does  not  usually  add  stability  to  the  butter  business.  He 
is  interested  largely  only  in  temporary  private  gain,  in  making 
a  little  "easy  money."  When  the  market  unexpectedly  weak- 
ens, he  generally  becomes  panicky  and  pours  his  holdings  ou*t  on 
the  market,  causing  a  further  weakening  of  prices,  which  in 
some  cases  may  result  in  a  slump  of  the  market  to  the  tem- 
porary detriment  of  the  butter  industry  This  in  turn  usually 
discourages  this  class  of  butter  buyers  and  often  rids  the  busi- 
ness of  much  of  the  speculative  element  for  several  years. 

Consumption  of  Butter  in  the  United  States  and  in  Other 
Countries. — According  to  T.  R.  Pirtle,1  Statistician  United  States 
Dairy  Division,  there  was  prior  to  the  World  war,  a 
steady  increase  in  the  consumption  of  butter  throughout  the 
world,  and  the  countries  of  small  butter  production  had  been 
importing  increasing  amounts  of  butter  year  by  year. 

Exceptions  to  this  general  statement  are  the  United  States 
which  has  shown  a  decrease  in  consumption  since  1900,  the 
Netherlands  since  1903  and  the  United  Kingdom  since  1906. 

The  following  figures,  secured  from  Mr.  Pirtle's  article  show 
the  per  capita  butter  consumption  by  years  in  the  United  States 
and  in  other  countries. 

1  Pirtle — The  Consumption  of  Butter  in  the  U.  S.  and  in  Other  Countries, 
The  Milk  Magazine,  Vol.  IT,  No.  6,  1919. 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 


441 


Table   61. — Per   Capita  Annual   Consumption   of   Butter   in   the 
United  States  by  Years. 


All   Butter 

Creamery  Butter 

Year 

Pounds  per  Capita 

Year 

Pounds  per  Capita 

1850    

12.9 
14.5 
13.3 
15.2 
18.8 
19.6 
17.5 
16.5 
14.0 

1890 

2.4 
5.3 
6.3 
6.8 
8.0 
7.3 
6.9 
7.6 

1860    

1900 

1870    

1904    

1880    

1909 

1890   

1914 

1900    

1916 

1909 

1917 

1914    .. 

1918 

1918   . 

Table  62. — Per  Capita  Annual   Consumption  of  Butter  by 

Countries. 


Country 

Date 

Pounds  per  Capita 

Australia     

1913 

256 

New  Zealand 

1914 

21  7 

Denmark    

1914 

190 

United  Kingdom  

1906 

190 

United  States   

1909 

175 

Canada    .....'  

1911 

163 

Norway 

1906 

140 

Netherlands 

1912 

11  3 

Switzerland    
France     

1906 
1906 

11.0 
80 

Italy  

1913 

25 

Argentina     %. 

1913 

1  7(J) 

Union    of   South   Africa  
Germany    

1916 

2.0  (2) 
(3) 

Austria    

(4) 

Egypt    

(B) 

Hawaii     

O 

Japan     

O 

China     .. 

.  :  .  . 

(8) 

1  Represents  consumption  of  factory  butter  only. 

2  Estimated. 

8  It  is  generally  understood  that  consumption  of  dairy  products  in  Ger- 
many is  large.  Imports  of  butter  in  1911  exceeded  120,000,000  pounds,  but  no 
records  are  available  to  establish  per  capita  consumption. 

4  No  record  available  of  total  production.     Imports  in  1913  were  14,000,000 
pounds  and  exports  2.000,000  pounds. 

5  Consumption  very  small. 

6  1900   record    suggests   less   than   one   pound   per   capita.      This   was    im- 
proved to  about  five  pounds  in  1918. 

7  Very  little  butter  is  consumed   except  by  the   foreign  population;   how- 
ever, use  is  increasing  and  becoming  more  general. 

8  Butter  not  used  by  Chinese  except  by  a  small  but  growing  number  of 
wealthier    classes.      Normal    consumption    of    butter    estimated    at    2,000,000 
pounds  per  annum. 


442 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 


EXPORTS  AND  IMPORTS. 

The  following  table  shows  the  pounds  of  butter  exported  from 
and  the  pounds  of  butter  imported  into  the  United  States  from 
1852  to  1918,  inclusive: 

Table  63. — Exports  and  Imports  of  Butter  for  the  United  States 

1852-19181 


Year  ending  June  30, 

Exports 
pounds. 

Imports 
pounds. 

1852-1856  

2,781,510 
6,793,614 
21,625,165 
2,858,578 
5,527,762 
39,481,907 
17,681,492 
16,685,391 
12,150,434 
23,758,629 
14,609,637 
6,601,489 
7,341,923 

12,544,777 
6,463,061 
5,981,265 
3,140,545 
4,877,797 
6,092,235 
..  3,58b,600 
3,693,597 
9,850,704 
13,487,481 
26,835,092 
26.194.4152 

1,612,671 
2,484,819 
2,978,951 
5,257,975 
D 
D 
246,631 
202,883 
91,224 
47,421 
321,038 
847,351 
2,914,234 

441,755 
780,608 
646,320 
1,360,245 
1,007,826 
1,025,668 
1,162,253 
7,842,022 
3,828,227 
712,998 
523,573 
1.  655.467s 

1857-1861                    

1862-1866  

1867-1871  

1872-1876 

1877-1881.                            

1882-1886.                 

1887-1891  

1892-1896 

1897-1901..         .           

1902-1906.  

1907-1911 

1912-1916 

By  years  : 
1907..         ..           

1908  

1909 

1910 

1911  

1912  

1913 

1914  

1915  

1916.  . 

1917 

1918.  . 

Exports. — The  butter  export  trade  of  the  United  States  has 
so  far  been  very  limited  in  amount  and  value  of  butter,  con- 
sidering the  vast  expanse  of  this  country  and  the  great  develop- 
ment of  our  dairy  industry.  The  annual  butter  exports  within 
the  last  60  years  have  varied  from  two  million  pounds  to  thirty- 
nine  million  pounds,  as  compared  with  over  two  hundred  mil- 

1  Annual  Report,  U.  S.  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor.     These  figures 
represent  twelve  months,  ending  June  30. 

D.     Included  in  other  Packing  House  Products. 

2  These  figures  represent  twelve  months,  ending  December  31. 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  443 

lion  pounds  exported  by  the  little  country  of  Denmark  with 
an  area  of  less  than  16,000  square  miles  and  a  population  of 
only  two  and  one-half  million  people. 

During  and  since  the  World  war  there  has  been  a  marked 
and  growing  increase  in  the  amount  of  butter  exported  by  the 
United  States,  and  the  great  shortage  of  butter  and  other  fats  in 
Europe  suggests  that  this  increase  may  continue  until  the  de- 
pleted stocks  of  butter  on  the  European  continent  are  again 
replenished.  Jn  considering  the  immediate  future  of  the  butter- 
export  trade  the  fact  should  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  the  neutral 
dairy  countries,  such  as  Denmark,  Holland,  Sweden  and  Norway, 
whose  decrease  in  dairy  products  during  the  war  was  due  not 
so  much  to  decrease  in  cow  population,  but  to  diminished  pro- 
duction per  cow  because  of  shortage  of  dairy  feed,  are  now 
rapidly  approaching  normal  production  again,  and  are  in  a  posi- 
tion to  export  to  the  butter-poor  countries  of  the  European  con- 
tinent. 

Prior  to  the  war  our  butter  exports  to  countries  of  the  North 
American  continent  went  largely  to  Canada,  considerable  portions 
were  also  shipped  to  the  Central  American  countries,  Bermuda, 
British  Honduras,  Mexico,  Newfoundland  and  Labrador.  Of  the 
European  countries  England  received  the  lion's  share,  while 
minor  portions  went  also  to  Scotland,  Germany,  Denmark,  Bel- 
gium, the  Netherlands,  Spain,  the  Azores  and  Turkey  in  Europe. 
The  chief  exports  to  Oceania  went  to  Australia  and  the  Philip- 
pine Islands.  Of  the  South  American  countries  Venezuela  re- 
ceived the  largest  portion,  while  British  and  French  Guiana, 
Colombia,  Chile,  Peru,  Brazil,  Bolivia,  Argentine  and  Ecuador 
were  recipients  of  smaller  amounts.  In  Asia  our  export  trade 
was  confined  largely  to  China,  Hongkong  and  Japan.  In  Africa, 
American  butter  went  largely  to  the  Belgian  Congo  and  British 
West  and  South  Africa.  During  and  since  the  war  large  ship- 
ments of  butter  have  been  consigned  to  the  countries  of  the 
European  continents, 


444 


MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 


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MARKETING  OF  BUTTER  445 

Quality  of  Butter  Exported.1 — Prior  to  the  European  war 
the  great  bulk  of  butter  exported  by  the  United  States  has 
been  of  the  lower  grades.  This  is  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  the 
surplus  butter  available  for  export  has  consisted  of  the  poorer 
grades,  partly  because  there  is  always  a  large  demand  in  our 
home  markets  for  our  better  grades  and  a  disposition  of  our  high 
class  trade  to  pay  higher  prices  for  the  best  butter  than  can  be 
obtained  in  foreign  markets,  and  partly  because  many  foreign 
markets,  including  the  English  markets,  do  not  demand  our 
highest  grades,  as  the  poorer  classes  in  many  of  the  larger  for- 
eign cities  cannot  afford  to  purchase  our  best  grades.  For 
this  class  of  trade,  therefore,  an  inferior  quality  of  butter  is 
exported.  The  quality  of  butter  for  export,  therefore,  is  largely 
dependent  upon  the  class  of  trade  and  the  purpose  for  which 
the  butter  is  to  be  used. 

The  fact  is  that  before  the  war  the  export  business  was  al- 
most wholly  on  Renovated  and  Baking  butter.  Since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war,  however,  the  export  business  has  been 
largely  on  butter  scoring  90  to  92  points. 

While  the  difference  in  price  for  butter  between  foreign 
and  domestic  markets  will  always  remain  the  governing  factor 
in  the  quality  and  quantity  of  butter  exported,  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that,  with  the  systematic  improvement  in  the  quality  of  Ameri- 
can butter,  the  development  of  foreign  markets  for  our  highest 
quality  of  butter  may  grow  more  rapidly  in  the  future  than  it 
has  in  the  past  and  that  our  total  exports  may  assume  pro- 
portions consistent  with  the  vastness  of  the  butter  industry  at 
home. 

Imports. — The  annual  imports  into  the  United  States  of 
foreign  butter  have  averaged  very  materially  less  than  the  ex- 
ports. The  extreme  variations  of  annual  imports  ranged  be- 
tween 6,821,696  pounds  of  butter  in  1868  and  23,700  pounds  in 
1899.  Since  the  year  1884  and  up  to  1909  they  amounted  to  less 
than  one  million  pounds  annually.  Beginning  with  the  year 
1910  the  annual  imports  exceeded  one  million  pounds. 

The  imports  fluctuated  largely  with  the  domestic  butter 
quotations  and  the  rate  of  tariff  on  foreign  butter.  During  the 

1  Information    furnished    by   Prof.    R.    C.    Potts,    Specialist   in    Marketing 
Dairy  Products,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  1916. 


446  MARKETING  OF  BUTTER 

years  immediately  following  the  Civil  War,  when  domestic  but- 
ter production  was  at  ebbtide  and  prices  soared  high,  40  cents 
and  over,  butter  imports  reached  their  maximum.  From  1885 
to  1900  when  domestic  quotations  for  butter  were  relatively 
low,  averaging  23  cents,  butter  imports  reached  their  minimum 
figure.  After  the  year  1900  butter  quotations  steadily  rose  and 
the  amount  of  imported  butter  increased.  After  the  tariff  re- 
vision which  went  into  effect  in  November,  1913,  and  which  low- 
ered the  tariff  on  foreign  butter  from  6  to  2*4  cents  per  pound, 
foreign  shipments  of  butter  arriving  at  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
seaports  increased  very  rapidly.  This  increase  would  un- 
doubtedly have  continued  had  it  not  been  for  the  advent  of  the 
European  War  which  diminished  the  surplus  of  foreign  butter 
and  increased  the  home  demand  for  butter  in  the  warring  and 
neutral  countries  abroad,  causing  an  immediate  and  rapid  de- 
cline of  butter  imported  into  the  United  States  from  foreign 
countries. 

Source  of  Butter  Imports. — The  amount  and  value  of  but- 
ter and  butter  substitutes  imported  from  foreign  countries  dur- 
ing the  years  1911  to  1915  inclusive  is  shown  in  Table  63. 

Prior  to  the  war  and  immediately  after  the  tariff  revision 
the  chief  importing  European  nations  were  England  and  Den- 
mark. Small  consignments  also  came  from  Belgium,  France, 
Germany,  Greece,  Italy,  the  Netherlands,  Norway,  Russia  in 
Europe,  Spain,  and  Turkey  in  Europe.-  Since  the  beginning  of 
the  war  the  imports  from  the  warring  and  neutral  nations  have 
become  insignificant,  Denmark  remaining  the  principal  shipper. 

Imports  from  countries  of  the  North  American  continent 
are  largely  confined  to  Canada.  The  South  American  butter 
comes  largely  from  Argentine.  In  Asia,  Turkey  is  the  principal 
country  from  which  butter  reached  our  ports.  From  Oceania, 
Australia  and  New  Zealand  were  the  chief  shippers  of  imported 
butter  and  the  small  amounts  of  butter  imported  from  Africa 
came  largely  from  Egypt,  Tripoli  and  Italian  Africa.  At  the 
close  of  the  year  1916  importation  of  foreign  butter  had  ceased 
almost  entirely. 


BUTTER  STORAGE  447 

Quality  and  Effect  of  Imported  Butter  on  Domestic  Butter 
Markets. — The  quality  of  foreign  butter  imported  into  the 
United  States  before  the  war  varied  naturally  with  the  source 
of  the  butter,  the  grades  ranging  from  85  to  93  points.  Butter 
from  Denmark  and  from  the  Argentine  Republic  usually  scored 
92  or  better.  Butter  from  Siberia  was  more  or  less  irregular  in 
quality,  some  of  it  was  very  poor.  New  Zealand  and  Australian 
butter  also  came  irregular  in  quality,  some  of  it  however  being 
very  fine.1 

The  tariff  reduction  and  the  subsequent  large  influx  of 
foreign  butter  depressed  price  quotations  in  American  markets 
to  a  very  marked  degree.  Thus  in  March,  1914,  Elgin  quotations 
dropped  to  24  cents,  which  is  an  abnormally  low  figure  for 
March.  This  price  depression  on  domestic  goods  was  felt  most 
in  the  Pacific  Coast  states  in  1914,  at  which  time  large  ship- 
ments of  butter  were  received  from  Australia  and  New  Zealand. 
Prices  at  that  time  were  depressed  from  3  to  5  cents,  presum- 
ably as  the  result  of  the  influx  of  foreign  butter.  Potts2  offers 
the  opinion,  however,  that  the  sudden  depression  in  prices  was 
largely  for  the  purpose  of  curtailing  further  imports,  as  there- 
by the  market  prices  here  would  be  lower  than  those  abroad 
and  therefore  discouraging  exportation  from  foreign  countries. 
He  further  states  that  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  European 
war  several  New  York  butter  firms  were  arranging  for  con- 
tracts to  receive  butter  from  Europe. 

CHAPTER  XV. 
BUTTER  STORAGE. 

Time  and  Duration  of  Storage. — The  great  bulk  of  butter 
goes  into  storage  in  May,  June  and  early  part  of  July,  though 
butter  may  be,  and  is,  stored  at  any  time  of  the  year  when  the 
supply  and  butter  prices  appear  favorable  for  storage.  May, 
June  and  the  first  half  of  July  are  the  natural  storage  months  of 
butter  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  because  the  freshening  of  the 
majority  of  the  cows  and  succulent  condition  of  the  pastures 

1  Information  furnished  by   S.   C.   Thompson,  U.   S.   Dairy  Division,   Aug- 
ust,  1916. 

2  Potts,   Specialist  in  Marketing  Dairy  Products,   U.   S.  Dept.   of  Agricul- 
ture, 1916. 


448  BUTTER  STORAGE 

during  these  months  provide  a  natural  surplus  of  butter  and 
cause  butter  prices  to  be  at  ebbtide. 

In  times  of  early  draught  which  causes  a  shrinkage  of  the 
surplus  output  and  a  rise  in  butter  prices,  the  storage  season 
is  usually  cut  short.  When  the  season  is  blessed  with  plenty 
of  rainfall,  keeping  pastures  green  until  late  into  fall  and  contin- 
uing a  large  make,  the  storage  season  is  usually  greatly  ex- 
tended beyond  the  months  of  May,  June  and  July. 

Under  normal  conditions  the  great  bulk  of  butter  in  storage 
is  taken  out  of  storage  within  nine  months  of  the  time  it  went 
in.  Only  in  exceptional  cases  is  butter  held  in  storage  over  one 
year,  and  when  this  is  done  it  is  usually  accompanied  by  a  great 
sacrifice  in  quality  and  in  price.  Not  all  butter  that  goes  into 
storage  is  held  till  late  winter.  Considerable-  quantities  of  but- 
ter are  "short  held,"  that  is,  they  are  put  on  the  market 
after  one  or  but  a  few  months  of  storage.  As  early  as 
August  some  of  the  May  or  June  butter  may  be  sold.  Es- 
pecially in  times  of  early  draught  and  consequent  early  falling 
off  of  the  summer  make  and  rapid  rise  of  butter  prices, 
and  when  the  quality  of  the  fresh  butter  is  poor,  due  to  the  hot 
weather,  butter  dealers  often  find  it  advantageous  to  supply  their 
trade  from  their  May  or  June  butter  in  storage,  which  is  usually 
of  better  quality  and  which  was  purchased  at  a  considerably 
lower  price  than  they  would  have  to  pay  for  the  midsummer 
butter.  In  the  case  of  an  open  summer  and  fall  with  a  con- 
tinuous large  make  and  only  very  gradual  rise  in  prices,  the 
tendency  is  to  hold  the  butter  in  storage  until  such  time  as  the 
demand  necessitates  and  prices  warrant  its  movement.  It  is 
obvious  that  aside  from  the  output  of  fresh  butter,  the  condition 
of  the  market,  butter  prices  and  consequently  the  duration  of 
storage  and  the  amount  of  the  storage  holdings,  are  influenced  by 
the  general  industrial  conditions  of  the  country,  exports  and 
imports,  and  to  some  extent  the  sale  of  butter  substitutes. 

Since  the  advent  of  the  Federal  Storage  Ruling.1 2  in  Nov- 
ember, 1917,  and  January,  1918,  and  rescinded  March,  1919,  re- 
quiring all  butter  that  is  held  in  cold  storage  over  thirty  days  to 

1  Rules  and  Regulations,   Governing  the  Importation,  Manufacture,   Stor- 
age and   Distribution   of   Food   Commodities   for  Domestic   Trade,   by   Act   of 
Congress,  approved  August  10,  1917,  and  effective  November  1,  1917. 

2  Amendments  and  Additions  to  the  above,  Series  B,  Supplement,  effective 
January  28,  1918. 


BUTTER  STORAGE 


449 


be  marked  on  each  package  with  the  words  "Cold  Storage/'  the 
volume  of  butter  that  is  "Short  Held"  or  stored  not  in  excess  of 
thirty  days  has  increased  greatly  and  the  practice  of  "rotating" 
the  butter  stored,  on  a  30  day  rotation  basis,  has  become  quite 
prevalent.  This  does  by  no  means  take  the  place  of  the  "long 
held"  cold  storage  of  butter,  but  in  a  limited  way  it  helps  the 
creamery  and  dealer  to  bridge  over  and  take  care  of  temporary 
surplus  and  shortages  and  to  thus  avoid  sudden  embarrassing 
extremes  of  supply  and  demand. 

Distribution  of  Commercial  Stocks  of  Butter. — During  the 
major  portion  of  the  "long  held"  storage  season  the  butter  held 
in  cold  storage  represents  close  to  50  per  cent  of  the  commercial 
stocks  of  butter  in  the  country.  The  remaining  stocks  of  butter 
are  divided  between  the  wholesale  dealers,  creameries,  retail 
dealers  and  meat  packers.  According  to  statistics  furnished  by 
the  United  States  Bureau  of  Markets,1  the  distribution  of  com- 
mercial butter  stocks  July  1,  1918  and  July  1,  1917  was  as 
follows : 

Table  67.— Stocks  of  Butter  on  Hand  July  1,  1918,  with  Com- 
parative Figures  for  July  1,  1917,  by  Classes  of  Business. 


Class  of  Business 

Total 
stocks 
reported 
as  on 
hand 
July  1, 
1918 

Comparative  Figures  — 
From  Firms  Reporting  for 
Both  1918  and  1917 

Quantity 
reported 
as  in 
transit 
on 
July  1, 
1^1918 

1918  stocks 

1917 
stocks 

Quantity 

Per 

cent  of 
1917 

Total  
Creameries                     .  .  . 

Pounds 
76,143,419 

Pounds 
71,645,214 

102.7 

Pounds 
69,766,707 

Pounds 
11,786,536 

13,526,964 
38,558,001 
5,895,423 
16,188,809 

13,630,918 
2,557,891 
1,974,222 
605,988 

370,196 
295,905 
802,133 

12,349,457 
37,623,380 
5,860,935 
14,236,457 

12,057,916 
2,178,541 
1,574,985 
478,959 

251,732 
255,679 
588,615 

108.7 
101.7 
133.5 
93.0 

93.3 
91.5 
93.2 
91.2 

59.1 
124.2 
110.4 

11,363,204 
37,011,569 
4,389,469 
15,302,442 

12,921,408 
2,381,034 
1,690,023 
525,305 

425,869 
205,849 
533,000 

8,986,444 
367,537 
320,550 
1,843,813 

1,787,546 
56,267 
267,192 
605 

Cold  storages             

Meat  Packers  

Wholesale  dealers  
Wholesale  dealers  in  but- 
ter, eggs,  and  cheese.  . 
Other  wholesale  dealers.  . 
Miscellaneous        

Bakers  
Oleomargarine  manufac- 
turers 

Cheese  factories  
Other  miscellaneous  .... 

200,180 
66,407 

1  Food    Surveys,    Bureau    of    Markets,    U.    S.    Department   of   Agriculture, 
Special  Issue,  Vol.  II,  No.  3,  August  31,  1918. 


450 


BUTTER  STORAGE 


Amount  of  Butter  Held  in  Cold  Storage. — The  amount  of 
butter  held  in  cold  storage  varies  largely  with  the  supply  and 
demand  jf  fresh  butter,  length  of  storage  season,  market  prices 
of  fresh  butter,  etc.  It  is  naturally  greatest  during  the  storage 
season  proper,  and  lowest  just  before  the  storage  season  opens 
up  again.  The  peak  of  storage  holdings  is  generally  reached 


Cold  storage: 


Meat  packers 


1 

10               15               ZO               2 

5              30              3 

S             « 

••HEBEi 

• 

STOCKS 

REPORTED 

(Pounds) 

CLASS 
TOTAL 

1918                  1917 
71,645,214     69,756,707 

• 

c 

•••   1 
'  1 

918 

917 

Creameries 
Cold  storages 
Meat  Backers 
Wholesale 
dealers 

12,349,467     11,363,204 
37,623,380     37,011,569 
5,860,935       4.389,469 

14,236,457     15,302.442 

Tig.  77.     Stocks  of  Butter  Reported  for  July   1,  1918,   and  July   1,  1917,  by 
Important   Classes   of   Business 


Millions 
6       8 


15,194,481 
11,045,055 
9.1E4.034 
4,291,022 
3,832,338 
3,204,877 
3,065,224 
2,826,693 


111. 

Pa. 

Calif 

Minn. 

Nebr. 

N.J. 

Conn. 

Wls. 

Ohio 

Mich. 

Kan. 

Iowa 

Colo. 


2,038,497 
1,961,845 
1,896,340 
1,495,380 
1,493,472 
1,374,719 
1,352,727 
1,208,665 
1.153,202 


Fig*.  78.     Stocks  of  Butter  Reported  for  tlie  Eighteen  Most  Important  States. 

by  September  and  the  bottom  early  in  May.  During  the  years 
from  1907  to  1916  the  percentage  of  storage  holdings  of  butter 
reported  by  the  Associated  Warehouses  averaged  six  and  nine- 
tenths  on  May  1,  and  100  on  September  1,  as  shown  in  graphic 
illustration,  Fig.  80. 

The  average  holdings  on  the  first  of  September,  for  the 
entire  period  of  10  years  amounted  to  64,378,898  pounds.  This 
diagram  further  shows  that  more  than  three-quarters  ot  the 


BUTTER  STORAGE: 


451 


holdings  in  these  warehouses  are  stored  during  the  months  of 
June  and  July,  while  most  of  the  distribution  is  within  the 
months  of  October  and  March,  inclusive.  The  fact  that,  accord- 
ing to  these  figures,  an  average  of  6.9  per  cent  of  the  holdings 
remain  at  the  opening  of  the  new  storage  season,  suggests  that 
this  proportion  of  holdings  is  carried  over  into  the  next  season. 


Miscellaneous,  2.6  % 


STOCKS  REPORTED  (Pounds) 


76.143.419 


Creameries  13,526,964 
cold  storages  38,558,001 
Beat  peckers  5,895,423 


,. 

Miscellaneous   1,974,222 


Tig.  79.    Distribution  of  Stocks  by  Important  Classes  July  1,  1918 

The  cold  storage  holdings  of  creamery  butter  by  months 
reported  to  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Markets  by  the  great 
majority  of  warehouses  and  including  all  of  the  more  important 
warehouses  in  this  country,  are  issued  by  this  bureau  for  the 
benefit  of  the  dealers,  free,  in  the  form  of  monthly  reports. 
The  cold  storage  holdings  covering  the  period  of  October  1, 
1916  to  December  1,  1919  are  recorded  in  Table  68. 

Storage  Conditions. — In  order  to  justify  storage  and  to  have 
the  storing  of  butter  fulfill  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  intended. 


452 


BUTTER  STORAGE 


COLD       STORAGE       HOLDINGS 

0  F 
CREAMERY    BUTTER 


Compiled  from  the  reports  of  the  associated  warehouses. 

Based  on  the  average  holdings  of  the  years 

1907  to  1916  inclusive. 


Per 
cent 
100 

90 
80 
70 
GO 
50 
HO 


30 
20 
10 


ll 


cent 
100 


90 
SO 
70 

60 
50 


30 

20 

10 

0 


rig-,  so 


BUTTER  STORAGE 


453 


Table  68. — Cold  Storage  Holdings  of  Creamery  Butter  in  the 
United  States,  Oct.  1,  1916,  to  Dec.  1,  1919.1 


Months 

Total  Holdings 

Comparison  of  Holdings 

Stor- 
ages 

ported 

Butter, 
Pounds 

Stor- 
ages 

ported 

Butter, 
Pounds 

Butter, 
Pounds 

Increase 
or 
Decrease 
Percent 

1916 

1916 

1915 

1916 

1915-1916 

Oct.    1.... 

165 

91,728,394 

133 

99,449,607 

88,909,646 

-10.6 

Nov.  1...  . 

179 

82,269,098 

142 

92,718,649 

79,294,074 

-14.6 

Dec.  1...  . 

239 

60,774,859 

189 

71,848,767 

58,627,236 

-18.4 

1917 

1917 

1916 

1917 

1916-1917 

Jan.    1.... 

268 

45,996,514 

227 

48,977,322 

44,673,639 

-  8.8 

Feb.   1.... 

273 

30,281,472 

211 

31,139,173 

29,250,641 

-  6.1 

Mar.  1.... 

286 

15,542,532 

215 

15,032,769 

14,582,975 

-  3.0 

Apr.   1.... 

275 

6,239,268 

214 

3,345,717 

6,022,216 

+80.0 

May     .... 

281 

2,586,593 

211 

1,081,913 

2,433,144 

+  124.9 

June     .... 

292 

8,942,120 

217 

7,016,731 

8,431,140 

+20.2 

July      .... 

289 

47,612,460 

217 

53,863,278 

,  44,633,595 

-17.1 

Aug  

310 

85,540,972 

257 

102,537,337 

81,502,751 

-20.5 

Sept  

335 

99,225,394 

268 

105,836,003 

94,644,780 

-10.6 

Oct  

380 

104,293,375 

332 

100,521,573 

97,456,876 

-  3.0 

Nov.  1.... 

396 

100,114,760 

345 

85,260,302 

93,209,717 

+  9.3 

Dec.   1.... 

385 

77,463,551 

340 

67,291,844 

73,133,855 

+  8.7 

1918 

1918 

1917 

1918 

1917-1918 

Jan.    1.... 

373 

47,069,946 

324 

41,686,684 

43,311,258 

+  3.9 

Feb.    1.... 

372 

24,780,358 

325 

30,473,709 

23,542,245 

-22.7 

Mar  

386 

18,808,303 

333 

16,952,367 

18,168,209 

+  7.2 

Apr  

381 

14,607,017 

345 

6,805,476 

14,177,901 

+  108.3 

May     .... 

375 

10,245,288 

341 

3,607,119 

10,100,054 

+  180.0 

June     

383 

13,017,143 

353 

9,953,184 

12,752,296 

+28.1 

July      .... 

419 

49,389,491 

386 

49,981,732 

47,436,912 

-  5.1 

Aug  

421 

87,382,926 

380 

79,203,492 

81,384,643 

+  2.8 

Sept  

420 

101,838,897 

390 

107,776,392 

100,503,488 

-  6.7 

Oct  

408 

87,105,801 

390 

104,926,813 

86,253,033 

-17.8 

Nov  

409 

80,595,375 

389 

96,663,946 

79,670,291 

-17.6 

Dec  

397 

65,577,900 

372 

78,733,939 

65,380,993 

-17.0 

1919 

1919 

1918 

1919 

1918-1919 

Jan.    1  

377 

43,210,770 

50,725,766 

43,140,260 

-15.0 

Feb.    1.. 

364 

36,815,793 

353 

25,964,218 

36,563,442 

+40.8 

Mar  

349 

24,436,630 

338 

18,658,019 

24,414,104 

+30.9 

Apr  

333 

12,233,700 

327 

14,628,544 

12,226,929 

-16.4 

May      .... 

330 

9,661,244 

323 

10,157,399 

9,634,690 

-  5.1 

June      

344 

29,285,220 

333 

12,749,056 

29,190,222 

+129.0 

July      .... 

342 

87,851,371 

325 

47,919,035 

87,720,486 

+83.1 

Aug  

334 

122,771,843 

2 

89,157,820 

123,545,670 

'+40.6 

Sept  

289 

129,251,064 

2 

99,334,448 

131,710,210 

+32.6 

Oct  

284 

121,674,977 

2 

87,924,232 

121,834,544 

+38.6 

Nov.  1.... 

270 

100,285,328 

2 

80,816,681 

100,851,405 

+24.8 

Dec.    1.... 

268 

73,440,191 

2 

65,110,521 

73,676,233 

+  13.2 

1  Monthly  Reports   of  Cold  Storage  Holdings  of  Butter,   Bureau  of  Mar- 
kets, U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,   1916-1919. 
s  Comparison  of  total  holdings. 


454  BUTTER  STORAGE: 

the  butter  must  be  protected  against  agents  and  conditions 
which  cause  it  to  deteriorate  in  quality.  The  chief  of  the  con- 
ditions injurious  to  the  quality  of  butter  in  storage  are  air. 
light,  heat  and  moisture. 

Air,  Light  and  Heat. — Excessive  exposure  to  air  causes  de- 
terioration of  butter  through  oxidation,  or  through  bacterial 
action,  or  both.  This  oxidation  is  greatly  intensified  in  the 
presence  of  light,  or  heat,  or  both,  and  bacterial  action  is 
enhanced  in  the  presence  of  heat.  Exposure  to  air  is  minimized 
by  the  use  of  packages  of  comparatively  large  size  and  by 
packing  in  wrappers  and  containers  that  have  previously  been 
made  as  near  impervious  to  air  as  possible.  Butter  is  best 
stored  in  packages  of  the  largest  possible  size  consistent  with 
convenient  handling.  The  larger  the  cubic  content  of  the  pack- 
age, the  smaller,  relatively,  is  its  surface  and  the  smaller  is, 
therefore,  the  area  of  butter  which  is  exposed  to  the  air.  For 
this  reason  the  firkin  used  in  Europe,  the  63  pound  tub  which 
predominates  in  the  central  and  eastern  United  States  and  the 
56  to  68  pound  cube  used  in  the  Pacific  Coast  states,  furnish 
more  suitable  forms  of  packages,  than  smaller  packages  such 
as  one,  two,  or  five  pound  prints,  slabs  or  rolls.  The  firkins, 
tubs  and  cubes  should  be  properly  paraffined  and  lined  with 
heavy,  brine-soaked  parchment  paper,  so  as  to  furnish  as  nearly 
herrnetical  a  seal  as  possible.  These  same  conditions,  large 
size  and  imperviousness  of  package  to  air,  also  protect  the 
butter  against  light.  In  full  containers  butter  keeps  better 
than  in  containers  only  partly  filled.  This  was  experimentally 
demonstrated  by  Gray  and  McKay,1  who  stored  butter  in  cans 
and  in  tubs  completely  filled  and  similar  containers  only  partly 
full.  At  — 10  degrees  F.  to  +10  degrees  F.  there  was  practically 
no  difference  in  the  keeping  quality  of  butter  packed  in  full  cans 
and  full  tubs,  but  at  32  degrees  F.  there  was  a  slight  difference 
in  favor  of  the  cans. 

Humidity  of  Storage  Rooms. — Aside  from  the  oxidizing 
effect  of  air,  light  and  heat  on  the  constituents  of  butter,  the 
deterioration  of  butter  in  storage  results  from  the  decomposition 
or  cleavage  of  the  non-fatty  constituents,  especially  the  proteins 

1  Gray  and  McKay,  Investigations  in  the  Manufacture  and  Storage  of 
Putter,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  B.  A.  I.  Bulletin  84,  1906. 


BUTTER  STORAGE 


455 


or  curd  of  butter,  as  caused  by  bacterial,  enzymic  or  chemical 
action  hastened  in  the  presence  of  air,  heat  and  moisture.  A 
damp  storage  is  prone  to  cause  the  development  of  mold.  The 
storage  room  therefore  should  be  dry. 

Temperature  of  Storage. — Heat  intensifies  every  type  of 
butter  deterioration  in  storage.  It  hastens  oxidation,  it  enhances 
the  action  of  bacteria  and  enzymes,  it  accelerates  chemical  ac- 
tion and  it  favors  mold  development.  Butter  that  is  intended 
for  prolonged  storage  must  be  stored  at  temperatures  of  zero 
degrees  Fahrenheit  or  below.  At  higher  temperatures  its  keeping 
quality  is  invariably  jeopardized  and  the  poorer  the  quality,  the 
more  rapid  will  be  the  deterioration  with  age. 

Gray  and  McKay,1  in  a  series  of  experiments,  studying  the 
effect  of  storage  temperature  on  keeping  quality  of  butter,  found 
that  at  — 10  degrees  F.  the  butter  kept  better,  both  while  in 
cold  storage  and  after  removal  from  cold  storage,  than  when 
stored  at  higher  temperatures.  The  butter  in  these  experiments 
was  stored  at  these  temperatures  for  5  to  8  months.  Similar 
results  were  obtained  by  Rogers,  Thompson  and  Keithley,2  who 
show  the  following  scores  of  butter  stored  at  temperatures  rang- 
ing from  zero  degrees  F.  to  20  degrees  F. : 


Points  I 

^ost  After 

Storage 

Kinds  of  Butter 

Stored  at 
0°F. 
Points 

Stored  at 
10°  F. 
Points 

Stored  at 
20°  F. 
Points 

Raw  cream  butter  Cry  A 

5  0 

5.3 

5.8 

Raw  cream  butter  Cry  D 

1  7 

4  1 

3  3 

Raw  cream  butter,  all  samples  
Pasteurized  ripened  cream  Cry  B 

3.2 
2  2 

4.6 
3.0 

4.8 
5.1 

Pasteurized  ripened  cream,  Crv.  E  

1.7 

3.6 

4.0 

Pasteurized  ripened  cream,  all  samples  .  .  . 
Pasteurized  unripened  cream,  Cry.  C  
Pasteurized  unripened  cream,  Cry.  D  
Pasteurized  unripened  cream,  all  samples  . 

2.0 
.6 
.4 
.5 

3.3 

1.0 
1.0 
1.0 

4.6 
1.5 
1.6 
1.6 

From  the  above  results  Rogers  and  his  co-workers  conclude 
that  the  difference  between  zero  degrees  F.  and  10  degrees  F. 


1  Gray   and   McKay,    Investigations   in    the   Manufacture   and    Storage    of 
Butter,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  B.  A.  I.  Bulletin  84,  1906. 

2  Rogers,  Thompson  and  Keithley,  The  Manufacture  of  Butter  for  Storage, 
U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  B.  A.  I.  Bulletin  148,  1912. 


456  BUTTER  STORAGE 

is  sufficient  to  warrant  the  use  of  the  lower  temperature,  even 
for  butter  of  the  best  keeping  quality.  The  author's  own  experi- 
ence, both  in  experimental  and  commercial  storage  of  butter, 
is  entirely  in  accord  with  the  above  findings  and  conclusions; 
in  order  to  insure  the  best  keeping  quality  for  storage  butter  of 
any  quality,  the  butter  must  be  kept  at  a  temperature  of  zero 
degrees  F.  or  below. 

In  isolated  cases  creameries  have  their  own  cold  storage. 
This  is  true  of  many  of  the  larger  creameries.  The  great  ma- 
jority of  the  creameries  of  the  country,  however,  lack  the  neces- 
sary equipment  and  facilities  for  prolonged  cold  storage  and 
their  attempt  to  use  their  own  facilities  in  a  great  many  cases 
proves  disappointing  in  its  results.  By  far  the  largest  portion  of 
the  storage  butter  is  stored  in  the  cold  rooms  of  large  commer- 
cial cold  storage  houses,  whose  exclusive  business  is  the  storage 
of  perishable  goods. 

Shrinkage  of  Butter  in  Cold  Storage. — Under  normal  con- 
ditions the  shrinkage  in  the  weight  of  butter  put  in  cold  storage 
in  tubs  or  cubes  is  not  very  great.  The  main  shrinkage  usually 
takes  place  before  the  butter  reaches  the  cold  storage,  while  the 
butter  is  held  in  the  creamery  cool  room  and  in  transportation, 
and  after  storage  when  the  butter  is  put  up  in  prints.  The  loss 
in  weight  between  the  package  at  the  churn  and  the  arrival  at 
the  cold  storage,  varies  considerably  with  the  workmanship  of 
the  butter,  the  completeness  of  moisture  incorporation,  the  treat- 
ment of  tubs  and  liners,  the  time  that  elapses  between  packing 
and  storing  and  the  amount  of  salt  .butter  contains. 

Butter  that  has  a  leaky  body,  as  is  usually  the  case  with 
butter  that  is  churned  at  too  high  a  churning  temperature,  or 
that  is  made  from  cream  that  was  not  held  long  enough  at  the 
churning  temperature,  or  butter  that  is  not  worked  sufficiently 
to  close  up  the  water  pockets,  is  prone  to  show  maximum  shrink- 
age due  to  loss  of  water  or  brine.  Butter  packed  in  unparaf- 
fined  tubs  will  shrink  more  than  butter  packed  in  paraffined 
tubs.  A  thin,  poor  liner  permits  of  greater  shrinkage  of  but- 
ter than  a  heavy  liner  of  good  quality.  The  longer  the  butter 
is  held  at  ordinary  cool  room  temperature  and  the  greater  the 
distance  of  transportation  before  the  butter  reaches  cold  storage, 
the  more  it  will  sacrifice  in  weight.  Salted  butter  will  lose  more 


BUTTER  STORAGE  457 

weight  than  imsalted  butter  and  heavily  salted  butter  will  shrink 
more  than  lightly  salted  butter.  Even  after  the  butter  is  in 
cold  storage  this  shrinkage  in  the  case  of  heavily  salted  butter 
will  continue,  resulting  in  very  appreciable  loss  of  weight  by  the 
end  of  the  storage  period.  Light  salted  and  unsalted  butter,  on 
the  other  hand,  do  not  suffer  material  loss  in  cold  storage. 

Deterioration  of  Quality  of  Butter  in  Storage. — Butter  of 
good  quality,  intelligently  manufactured  and  properly  packed, 
will  generally  withstand  noticeable  deterioration  under  ordinary 
commercial  conditions  and  without  regular  cold  storage  for  about 
a  month.  After  that  time  it  tends  to  depreciate,  and  unless  of 
exceptional  keeping  quality,  it  will  gradually  develop  specific 
defects,  such  as  rancidity,  fishy  flavor,  etc.  In  regular  cold  stor- 
age good  butter  may  retain  the  character  of  fresh  butter  foi; 
several  months.  However,  age  is  the  arch  enemy  of  quality, 
and  prolonged  storage  even  at  commercial  cold  storage  tempera- 
tures, gradually  develops  in  the  great  bulk  of  butter  so  stored 
the  characteristic  storage  flavor. 

The  changes  and  the  causes  of  these  changes  which  take 
place  in  butter  in  storage  are  exceedingly  complex  and  as  yet 
far  from  being  thoroughly  understood.  These  changes  affect 
both  the  flavor  and  the  texture  of  butter,  varying  in  kind  and 
extent  with  the  character  and  quality  of  the  butter  while  fresh 
and  the  temperature  and 'period  of  storage. 

The  flavor  changes  often  are  very  marked,  the  butter  loses 
the  characteristic  flavors  and  aroma  of  fresh  butter  and  devel- 
ops a  variety  of  off-flavors,  the  specific  flavor  and  its  intensity 
in  each  particular  case  depending  probably  on  specific  combina- 
tions of  conditions.  Only  in  rare  cases  can  the  flavor  defect  be 
traced  direct  to  one  specific  cause.  A  certain  combination  of 
factors  may  yield  a  specific  flavor  defect,  the  absence  from  this 
combination  of  one  factor  may  fail  to  produce  the  same  defect 
and  may  cause  an  entirely  different  defect,  although  all  other 
factors  and  conditions  responsible  for  the  original  defect  may  be 
present.  Thus  butter  may  develop  a  fishy  flavor  under  certain 
apparent  conditions.  Yet  when  an  effort  is  made  to  produce 
fishy  butter  by  subjecting  butter  to  these  conditions,  fishiness 
often  fails  to  result  and  in  its  place  usually  some  other  flavor 
develops,  such  as  oily  flavor  or  metallic  flavor,  etc. 


458  BUTTER  STORAGE 

These  facts  emphasize  the  probability  that  there  are  many 
factors  which  are  instrumental  in  the  production  of  a  specific 
flavor  defect  through  their  joint  action,  while  each  separate  fac- 
tor, though  necessary  for  the  combination  that  produces  the 
defect,  is  by  itself  alone  incapable  of  so  doing.  As  a  concrete 
example  of  this  may  be  quoted  the  case  of  tallowy  butter  the 
specific  causes  of  which  have  been  determined  with  certainty.1 
Oxygen  carriers  and  catalizing  agents,  such  as  certain  metals 
and  their  salts,  especially  copper  and  copper  salts,  are  capable  of 
making  butter  tallowy.  These  agents  are  present  in  average 
butter  to  a  very  small  extent  and  in  butter  containing  a  normal 
per  cent  acid  and  kept  in  cold  storage  they  fail  to  produce 
the  tallowy  flavor.  If  this  butter  is  made  from  over-neutralized 
cream,  or  is  wrapped  in  parchment  which  was  not  entirely  freed 
from  the  ammonia  used  for  the  neutralizing  of  the  sulphuric 
acid  used  in  the  parchmenting  process,  the  butter  so  wrapped 
may  become  tallowy  very  rapidly,  especially  when  it  is  exposed 
to  room  temperature.  In  this  case  the  alkali,  which  alone  does 
not  make  butter  tallowy,  is  a  necessary  part  of  the  combination, 
in  which  copper  may  be  the  fundamental  cause  of  the  tallowy 
flavor. 

The  texture  of  the  butter  usually  shows  marked  changes 
only  after  prolonged  cold  storage.  The  grain  of  the  butter 
gradually  breaks  down  giving  such  butter  a  more  or  less 
crumbly  and  pasty  consistency. 

Summary  of  the  Effect  of  Cold  Storage  on  the  Quality  of  Butter. 

Summing  up  the  most  important  phases  of  our  present 
knowledge  of  the  effect  of  storage  of  butter  on  its  quality  the 
following  points  are  emphasized : 

1.  Age  tends  to    deteriorate    the  flavor    of    butter.     The 
rapidity  and  intensity  of  this  deterioration,  other  factors  being 
the  same,  is  influenced  largely  by  the  temperature  of  storage. 
At  the  usual  temperature  of  commercial  cold  storage,  — 6  to — 10° 
F.  the  changes  in  flavor  are  usually  very  gradual. 

2.  The  most  predominating  flavor  defect  which  butter  de- 
velops in  cold  storage  is  the  flavor  known  as  cold  storage  flavor. 
In  the  case  of  butter  that  was  of  good  quality  when  it  went 

x  Hunziker  and  Hosman,  Tallowy  Butter,  Its  Causes  and  Prevention, 
Journal  of  Dairy  Science,  Vol.  I.,  No.  4,  1917. 


BUTTER  STORAGE  459 

into  storage,  the  development  of  the  storage  flavors  may  be  very 
slight.  Butter  of  poor  quality  usually  shows  very  great  de- 
terioration in-  storage,  the  flavor  defects  may  be  numerous  and 
often  one  flavor  may  succeed  another  as  storage  progresses.  An 
oily  flavor  may  develop  into  a  metallic  flavor  and  this  in  turn 
may  give  way  to  fishy  flavor,  etc. 

3.  The  quality  of  the  cream    from  which    the    butter  is 
made,    largely   governs    the    keeping   quality    of    the   butter    in 
storage.     Butter  made  from  a  poor  quality  of  cream  cannot  be 
expected    to    withstand    rapid    and    intense    deterioration    in 
storage. 

4.  The  analysable  chemical  changes  which  butter  undergoes 
in  storage,  are  very  slight,  even  in  butter  which  has  yielded  to 
most  pronounced  flavor  changes.     The  exact  changes,  and  the 
constituents  of  the  butter  which  are  changed,  that  are  respon- 
sible for  the  development  of  specific  flavor  defects  have  not  been 
determined  in  the  great  majority  of  cases.     It  is  assumed  with 
reasonable   certainty   however,    that   rancidity   and   tallowiness 
are  due  to  cleavage  of  the  butterfat,  rancidity  through  bacterial 
or  enzymic  action  or  both,  and  tallowiness    through  chemical 
action.     The  characteristic  flavor  of  cold  storage  butter  and  its 
derivations  such  as  oily,  metallic  and  fishy  flavors,  are  generally 
assumed  to  result  from  the  decomposition  of  the  non-fatty  con- 
stituents of  butter. 

5.  The  most  active  agents  bringing  about  deterioration  of 
butter  in  cold  storage  appear  to  be  cream  with  a  high  acid  con- 
tent, the  presence  in  cream  and  butter  of  metals,  such  as  cop- 
per and  iron,  and  their  salts,  the  air  incorporated  in  the  butter 
and  bacteria  and  enzymes ;  though  the  influence  of  microorgan- 
isms is  considered  of  indirect  rather  than  of  direct  nature. 

6.  In  order  to  insure,  with  reasonable  certainty,  butter  of 
good  keeping  quality,  and  minimum  deterioration    in  commer- 
cial cold  storage,  the  butter  should  be  made  from  cream  of  good 
quality  and  low  acidity,  transported  in  cans  that  are  free  from 
rust,  and   handled   in  vats,   pasteurizers   and   conduits   properly 
tinned  and  the  surfaces  of  which  are  kept  bright  and  free  from 
accumulations  of  oxidized  or  dissolved  metal,  the  pasteurization 
should  be  thorough  and  preferably  by  the  flash  process  at  176° 
F.  or  over,  or  the  holding  process  at  145°  F.  for  30  minutes,  the 


460  BUTTER  SCORING 

butter  should  be  worked  in  the  normal  way,  avoiding  over- 
churning  and  overworking  and  excessive  incorporation  of  air, 
all  equipment  and  rooms  in  the  factory  in  which  the  cream  and 
butter  is  handled  and  exposed  should  be  kept  clean,  the  butter 
should  be  packed  and  stored  under  approved  conditions  and 
should  reach  the  cold  storage  with  the  least  possible  delay  after 
manufacture. 

CHAPTER   XVI. 
BUTTER  SCORING. 

Definition. — The  scoring  or  judging  of  butter  refers  to  the 
examination  of  butter  for  flavor  and  aroma,  body  and  texture, 
color,  salt  and  package. 

Purpose. — The  primary  object  of  scoring  butter  is  to  de- 
termine its  quality  and  market  value.  The  bulk  of  the  butter 
that  reaches  the  wholesale  receivers,  jobbers  and  commission 
men  is  scored  and  most  of  this  butter  is  sold  "over  the  trier" 
and  paid  for  on  the  basis  of  the  grade  to  which  its  score 
entitles  it. 

Butter  intended  for  storage  usually  is,  and  always  should 
be,  most  carefully  scored  in  order  to  ascertain  its  fitness  for 
storage.  Butter  showing  a  weak  body  and  tendency  toward  an 
oily,  metallic  or  fishy  flavor  is  unsafe  to  go  into  storage.  Such 
butter  is  prone  to  become  fishy  or  develop  other  storage  flavors 
with  age.  Careful  scoring  before  permitting  its  entrance  into 
cold  storage  may  save  the  owner  from  heavy  loss  at  the  end  of 
the  storage  period. 

At  butter  scoring  contests  such  as  are  held  at  County,  State 
and  National  fairs  and  shows,  the  careful  scoring  of  the  butter 
judges  and  their  criticisms  and  instructions,  are  often  of  great 
help  to  the  buttermaker  in  his  efforts  to  eliminate  butter  defects 
and  to  improve  upon  his  methods  of  manufacture. 

The  butter  should  be  scored  not  only  by  the  buyer  and  the 
educational  judge  but  by  the  buttermaker  himself.  He  should 
have  accurate  knowledge  of  the  quality  of  butter  that  leaves  his 
factory  and  he  can  secure  this  knowledge  only  by  carefully 
scoring  each  churning.  This  scoring  should  not  be  done  at  the 
churn,  however,  for  the  quality  of  the  fresh  butter  at  the  churn 


BUTTER  SCORING  461 

is  seldom  a  reliable  index  to  the  quality  of  the  butter  when  it  is 
one  or  two  weeks  old.  Most  butter  when  perfectly  fresh  is 
palatable.  Serious  defects  generally  develop  and  "show  up" 
with  age. 

The  Score  Card. — The  national  score  card  adopted  and  used 
by  the  officials  and  butter  men  in  all  parts  of  the  country  is  that 
contained  in  the  rulings  of  the  New  York  Mercantile  Exchange 
and  quoted  in  the  chapter  on  "Markets  and  Marketing." 

Valuation  of  Butter  Defects. — The  prices  paid  for  butter 
sold  on  the  open  market,  are  based  fundamentally  on  the  estab- 
lished classes  of  market  grades,  the  chief  of  which  are:  "Extras," 
"Firsts,"  "Seconds"  and  "Thirds,"  and  in  commercial  scoring 
the  deductions  for  defects  are  generally  so  made  as  to  place  the 
butter  into  its  respective  grade.  The  exact  scores  for  each 
grade  vary  somewhat  with  the  condition  of  the  market  and  the 
season  of  the  year  as  determined  by  the  Butter  Committee  of 
the  Exchange.  Thus  the  New  York  Mercantile  Exchange  rules 
provide  that  extras  may  score  either  91,  92  or  93  points,  as 
the  minimum,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Butter  Committee,  who 
shall  determine  the  required  score  from  time  to  time  in  such 
manner  that  it  shall  represent  an  average  fancy  quality  in  the 
season  when  offered.  But  butter  scoring  more  than  required 
for  "Extras"  shall  be  deliverable  on  a  contract  for  "Extras," 
etc.  See  rules  of  New  York  Mercantile  Exchange. 

The  minimum  scores,  for  the  several  grades  are  as  follows, 
with  Extras  at  91,  92  or  93  points: 

Extras  at  91  92  93 


Firsts    ...87  88  89 

Seconds    82  83  84 

Thirds 75  76  77 

In  discussing  the  figure  valuation  of  butter  defects  it  will  be 
assumed  here  that  "Extras"  require  a  minimum  score  of  92 
points. 

"Extras." — In  order  for  butter  to  score  "Extras,"  it  must 
have  a  clean  and  pleasant  flavor  and  aroma  and  it  must  be  free 
from,  any  undesirable  off-flavors.  Its  color,  salt  and  body 
must  be  perfect.  Such  butter  would  merit  a  flavor  score  of  37  and 
a  total  score  of  92.  Butter  with  a  specially  delicate  flavor  and 


462  BUTTER  SCORING 

creamy  texture,  showing  excellent  quality  of  cream,  may  be 
given  a  flavor  score  of  38,  39,  40  or  41  points,  or  higher,  or  a  total 
of  93,  94,  95  or  96  or  higher,  according  to  the  pronouncedness 
of  these  desirable  qualities. 

"Firsts." — -Butter  which  is  of  clean  flavor  but  lacks  the  char- 
acteristic delicacy  of  aroma,  and  is  perfect  in  body,  color  and 
salt,  is  considered  a  good  "Firsts,"  meriting  a  flavor  score  of  35 
to  36  points,  or  a  total  score  of  about  90  to  91  points. 

Butter  with  a  slightly  acid  flavor  and  aroma,  or  that  shows 
traces  of  weedy  flavor  or  other  slight  flavor  defects  might  still 
be  classed  as  a  "Firsts,"  with  a  flavor  score  of  33  to  34  points 
and  a  total  score  of  88  to  89  points,  provided  that  it  is  perfect  in 
body,  color  and  salt. 

"Seconds." — Butter  that  shows  slight  rancidity,  fishiness, 
oily  or  metallic  flavor,  garlic  flavor,  or  yeasty  flavor,  is  classed 
as  a  "Seconds,"  with  a  flavor  score  of  28  to  32  inclusive,  and  a 
total  score  of  83  to  87  inclusive,  the  exact  score  varying  with 
the  intensity  of  the  defect. 

.     "Thirds." — Butter  with  a  strongly  rancid,  tallowy,  fishy,  or 
other  intense  off-flavor  is  scored  as  "Thirds." 

Butter  with  a  leaky  texture  or  leaky  or  crumbly  body 
would  not  be  accepted  as  an  "Extras."  These  defects  would  cut 
its  score  on  body  such  texture  from  1  to  3  points.  If  of  clean 
flavor  and  perfect  color,  such  butter  might  score  a  good  "Firsts." 

Butter  that  is  pronouncedly  mottled  is  cut  from  3  to  5 
points  on  color.  If  otherwise  of  good  quality  and  clean  flavor 
it  would  be  classed  as  a  "Firsts." 

Butter  that  is  gritty  and  excessively  salty  may  be  cut  from 
^2  to  2  points  on  salt  according  to  the  intensity  of  the  defect. 
Such  butter  usually  has  a  coarse  flavor.  If  it  shows  no  distinct 
off-flavor,  it  may  be  classed  as  a  "Firsts." 

In  rare  cases  only  is  butter  scored  down  on  package,  but 
it  should  be  understood  that  the  neatness  and  cleanliness  of  the 
package  makes  a  favorable  impression  on  the  judge,  while  an 
untidy  and  soiled  package  tends  to  condemn  the  goods. 

Method  of  Scoring. — The  scoring  of  butter  is  most  conven- 
iently done  by  the  use  of  a  butter  trier.  A  plug  of  butter  is 
removed  from  the  package  by  boring  from  top  to  bottom  of 


BUTTER  SCORING  463 

the  tub  or  cube,  or  from  end  to  end  in  the  case  of  the  print. 
First  the  aroma  is  observed  by  passing  the  trier  under  the  nose. 
Then  the  butter  is  tasted  for  flavor  and  salt  by  cutting  with  a 
clean  knife  or  spatula,  a  small  piece  off  the  plug.  Then  the  plug 
is  examined  for  uniformity  of  color.  The  texture  and  body  are 
examined  for  leakiness,  crumbliness,  stickiness  and  weak  body. 
In  the  case  of  crumbly  and  sticky  butter  it  is  difficult  to  secure 
a  solid  plug,  the  plug  is  ragged  and  irregular  and  butter  sticks 
to  the  back  of  the  trier.  In  the  case  of  leaky  butter  the  brine 
runs  freely,  and  in  large  drops,  from  the  butter.  A  weak  body 
refers  to  butter  with  a  poor  grain;  when  the  plug  is  broken  the 
surface  at  the  break  resembles  that  of  a  tallow  candle  and  the 
butter  gives  the  impression  of  salviness.  The  color  of  such 
butter  generally  lacks  brightness  and  life,  it  is  dull. 

The  Ethics  of  Butter  Scoring. — It  must  be  obvious  to  all 
who  are  interested  in  the  dignity  and  standard  of  excellence  of 
the  butter  industry  that  the  sanitary  and  ethical  aspect  of  butter 
scoring  demands,  that  this  work  be  done  in  a  neat,  cleanly  and 
careful  manner,  and  yet  so  many  so-called  butter  judges  ignore 
the  most  primitive  dictates  of  decency  in  the  scoring  of  butter. 
They  do  this  work  in  slovenly  manner,  they  pay  no  attention 
to  the  cleanliness  of  their  hands,  they  fail  to  wipe  the  trier 
clean  before  it  is  inserted  in  the  butter,  they  try  to  ascertain 
the  aroma  by  rubbing  their  nose  into  and  wiping  it  on  the  butter, 
they  determine  the  flavor  by  digging  their  teeth  into  a  plug, 
and  then  replace  this  mutilated  and  desecrated  butter  into  the 
package  which  is  later  offered  for  sale  and  consumption.  Such 
performances  are  an  insult  to  the  dignity  of  the  butter  industry 
and  a  depredation  to  this  most  valuable  and  wholesome  of  food, 
butter.  Nor  do  such  practices  denote  expertness  on  the  part 
of  the  judge.  The  flavor  and  aroma  of  butter  are  of  delicate 
nature,  their  correct  impression  on  the  senses  demands  subtle 
and  delicate  handling.  Pressing  one's  nose  into  the  butter 
destroys  the  delicacy  of  flavor  and  aroma  and  dulls  the  senses. 
There  is  room  for  much  improvement,  especially  in  the  cellars 
of  the  wholesale  produce,  in  the  ethics  of  butter  scoring  as  now 
done,  and  this  improvement  will  assist  in  convincing  the  laymen 
of  the  wholesomeness  and  superiot  virtues  of  butter  as  a  food 
which  the  dairy  interests  claim  for  their  product. 


464  BUTTER  SCORING 

The  necessary  equipment  for  performing  the  examination 
and  scoring  of  butter  in  an  approved  manner,  consists  of  a 
nickel-,  tin-  or  silver-plated  butter  trier,  a  knife  or  spatula  and 
clean  cheese  cloth  or  clean  soft  paper,  such  as  tissue  paper. 

Before  commencing  the  work  of  examining  the  butter,  the 
scorer  should  thoroughly  wash  his  hands  with  soap  and  water. 
The  trier  should  be  wiped  dry  and  clean.  When  the  plug  on 
the  trier  is  examined  for  aroma,  it  should  be  passed  under  the 
nose  without  touching  the  nose.  For  tasting  the  butter  a  small 
piece  of  butter  is  removed  from  the  plug  with  the  knife  or 
spatula.  The  uniformity  or  color  can  be  seen  without  mutila- 
tion of  the  plug.  Examination  for  leakiness  and  body  and 
texture  is  best  made  by  pressing  the  plug  with  clean  thumb. 

When  the  examination  is  completed,  the  plug  is  neatly  re- 
placed in  the  bore  of  the  package  by  carefully  returning  the 
trier  in  the  bore  and  withdrawing  the  empty  trier.  The  surface 
of  the  package  at  the  place  of  the  returned  plug  is  then  evened 
up  and  smoothed  over,  not  with  the  fingers,  but  with  the  trier, 
and  the  circle  or  wrapper  is  again  repjaced  neatly.  The  trier 
and  spatula  are  then  wiped  clean,  not  with  the  bare  hands,  but 
with  the  cheese  cloth  or  paper,  before  the  next  package  is 
examined. 

Accuracy  of  Butter  Scoring. — It  is  said  that  expert  butter 
judges  are  born  and  not  made.  This  is  true  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent. Expertness  requires,  above  all  things,  a  keen  sense  of 
taste  and  smell.  Individuals  deprived  of  an  accurate  sense  of 
taste  and  smell  lack  the  fundamental  attributes  that  make  for 
expertness  in  butter  scoring.  However,  most  persons  possess 
these  senses  to  a  sufficient  degree  to  be  able  to  distinguish 
good  butter  from  bad  butter,  and  with  a  little  practice 
they  soon  acquire  the  power  to  differentiate  between  the  more 
pronounced  flavors  and  odors.  Aside  from  the  natural  and 
acquired  ability  to  detect  flavor  and  aroma,  the  butter  judge 
needs  knowledge,  experience  and  judgment  in  determining  and 
deciding  on  the  correct  valuation  in  terms  of  figure  scores,  of 
the  flavors  found  in  the  butter,  and  these  attributes  are  largely 
a  matter  of  practice.  Finally  the  butter  judge  must  be  a  man 
of  character,  not  given  to  superficial  work  and  "bluff  verdicts," 


BUTTER  SCORING  465 

he  must  be  conscientious,  careful  and  able  to  decide  for  himself 
and,  after  deciding,  to  stand  by  his  convictions. 

When  more  than  one  judge  does  the  scoring,  as  is  generally 
the  case  at  educational  butter  scoring  contests  and  county,  state 
and  national  fairs,  also  in  scoring  experimental  butter,  each  judge 
should  work  entirely  independent  of  the  other  judges,  there 
should  be  no  expression  of  opinion,  no  comparison  of  notes,  while 
the  scoring  is  in  progress  and  until  each  of  the  judges  has  com- 
pleted his  work,  otherwise  the  personal  judgment  of  the  individ- 
ual judge  is  jeopardized  and  is  liable  to  be  materially,  though 
unknowingly,  influenced,  and  this  occurs  usually  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  accuracy  and  fairness  of  the  final  score.  After  each 
judge  has  completed  his  scoring,  then  the  judges  may  compare 
notes  and  rescore,  for  their  own  satisfaction,  packages  on  which 
the  scores  of  the  different  judges  show  considerable  diversion. 
The  average  of  the  individually  determined  scores  of  the  several 
judges  promises  results  of  maximum  accuracy,  a'nd  freedom  from 
disturbing  influences,  of  the  final  score  awarded  to  each  package. 

The  Value  of  Educational  Butter  Scoring  Contests.— With 
due  allowance  to  the  actual  service  these  contests  are  often  capa- 
ble of  rendering,  the  judge  through  his  criticisms  giving  the  but- 
termaker  valuable  information  that  makes  for  improvement,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  the  lasting  results  of  educational  butter- 
scoring  contests  and  the  concrete  usable  information  they  offer, 
are  often  very  meager  and  in  a  great  many  cases  they  do  not 
justify  the  expense  incurred.  There  are  many  reasons  for  this. 

The  average  butter  judge  is  not  a  practical  buttermaker. 
He  lacks  the  full  knowledge  of  the  real  problems  which  confront 
the  buttermaker  and  he  therefore  falls  short  in  his  appreciation 
of  the  significance  of  these  problems.  In  fact,  even  assuming 
that  he  is  a  capable  judge  of  butter,  which  is  by  no  means  always 
the  case,  he  has  very  little  to  offer  to  and  a  great  deal  to  learn 
from  the  man  whose  butter  he  is  scoring.  Some  of  the  informa- 
tion which  he  endeavors  to  convey  to  the  buttermaker  through 
his  letter  of  criticisms  is  either  not  well  founded  or  does  not 
apply,  and  much  of  the  remainder  of  the  information  given 
has  long  been  a  part  of  the  buttermaker's  knowledge ,  but 
local  conditions,  lack  of  sufficient  energy,  or  other  conditions, 


466  BUTTER  SCORING 

have  hindered  him  from  putting  this  knowledge  "across"  in  his 
factory. 

Again,  the  basis  upon  which  the  butter  is  scored  at  most 
of  the  scoring  contests  puts  a  premium  on  a  very  mistaken 
standard  of  excellence,  that  not  only  has  no  real  commercial  val- 
ue, but  is  a  positive  detriment  to  the  success  of  the  butter  in- 
dustry. 

The  ideal  used  as  the  basis  for  scoring  has  been  that  of 
butter  with  a  highly  developed  butter  flavor,  and  in  their  efforts 
to  successfully  compete,  the  buttermakers  so  ripened  their  cream 
and  handled  their  butter  as  to  cause  it  to  possess  as  high  a  flavor 
as  possible  on  the  day  of  the  contest. 

Elsewhere  in  this  volume  it  is  conclusively  shown  that  butter 
so  made  has  very  poor  keeping  quality.  It  has  reached  the  very 
limit  of  changes  it  is  capable  of  undergoing,  without  actually 
deteriorating  in  flavor  and  any  further  changes,  which  it  is  bound 
to  suffer  with  age,  will  cause  it  to  develop  off-flavors.  The 
butter  with  high  flavor  which  wins  top  scores  and  honors  at 
these  contests,  therefore,  has  the  ear-marks  of  butter  that  does 
not  keep  well  and  that,  by  the  time  it  reaches  the  table  of  the 
consumer,  may  be  anything  but  "prize  butter." 

Since  the  consumer  is  the  final  judge  of  the  value  of  butter, 
the  butter  must  have  such  keeping  property  that  it  is  able  to 
withstand  agencies  of  deterioration  until  it  is  consumed,  and 
it  is  essential  to  the  success  of  the  butter  industry  that  the 
buttermaker  concentrate  his  knowledge  and  energy  in  this 
direction,  rather  than  to  manufacture  butter  that  is  a  prize  win- 
ner tomorrow  and  that  "goes  to  pieces"  thereafter. 

In  some  of  the  states  the  management  of  scoring  contests, 
appreciating  the  significance  of  these  facts,  is  effectively  cor- 
recting this  weakness,  by  either  holding  all  contest  butter  for 
several  weeks  before  the  contest,  or  by  rescoring  a  second  time 
after  an  interval  of  several  weeks.  The  results  of  scoring 
contests  following  this  practice  are  bound  to  be  fruitful  of 
much  real  good,  from  the  standpoint  of  assisting  the  butter- 
maker  in  his  efforts  to  improve  the  commercial  value  of  his 
butter. 

Finally,  the  conducting  of  educational  butter  scoring  con- 
tests has  much  educational  value  in  an  indirect  way.  It  is  an 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  467 

effective  means  to  bring  the  buttermakers  together,  where 
they  can  discuss  their  problems  and  difficulties,  where  they 
have  an  opportunity  to  hear  lectures  and  see  demonstrations 
that  give  them  new  information,  and  where  they  can  come  in 
close  touch  with  the  dairy  schools  and  their  staffs. 

CHAPTER    XVII. 
BUTTER  DEFECTS. 
THEIR  CAUSES  AND  PREVENTION. 

Classification  of  Defects. — This  discussion  is  confined  to  the 
most  important  butter  defects  which  are  considered  individually 
under  the  following  few  headings :  flavor  and  aroma,  body  and 
texture,  color  and  appearance. 

DEFECTS  IN  FLAVOR  AND  AROMA. 

Flat  Flavor. — Butter  termed  flat  in  flavor  lacks  the  delicate 
flavor  and  aroma  characteristic  of  "Extras"  and  fancy  butter. 
Its  flavor  lacks  life.  Such  butter  usually  sells  as  "Firsts"  on 
the  market,  provided  that  it  has  no  serious  defect  otherwise. 

The  flat  flavor  is  usually  due  to  washing  excessively  in  cold 
water.  Cold  wash  water  has  the  power  to  absorb  the  flavor- 
producing  volatile  oils  of  the  butter  when  in  granular  form. 
Excessive  washing  and  prolonged  exposure  of  the  butter  to 
the  cold  wash  water,  therefore,  tend  to  leave  the  butter  with- 
out much  flavor,  or  flat. 

Occasionally  butter  is  criticised  as  being  flat  in  flavor 
simply  because  it  is  low  in  salt.  The  use  ctf  more  salt  brings 
out  the  flavor  more  pronouncedly. 

Butter  made  from  sweet  cream  which  was  not  subjected  to 
the  ripening  process  and  to  which  no  starter  was  added,  is 
generally  very  mild  in  flavor  and  may  be  termed  flat  by  those 
who  desire  a  high-flavored  butter. 

Stale  Flavor. — The  staleness  and  lifelessness  of  butter, 
termed  stale,  is  usually  due  to  the  advanced  state  of  the  period 
of  lactation.  It  is  an  off-flavor  which  is  characteristic  of  butter 
made  in  winter  when  the  cows  are  approaching  the  end  of  their 
lactation  period.  The  cause  here,  as  in  flat-flavored  butter,  lies 
in  the  partial  absence  of  the  flavor-producing  volatile  and  solu- 
ble fats,  oils  and  acids.  As  the  period  of  lactation  advances,  the 


46S  BUTTER 

per  cent  of  the  flavor-producing  elements  decreases  and  is  lowest 
at  the  time  the  cows  are  ready  to  go  dry.  Observant  butter- 
makers  know  from  experience  that,  when  all  their  cream  comes 
from  stripper  cows,  their  butter  always  has  more  or  less  of  this 
stale  flavor,  and  that  the  addition  of  but  a  few  cans  of  cream  or 
milk  from  fresh  cows  will  make  a  wonderful  improvement  in 
the  flavor  of  their  butter.  At  the  beginning  of  the  period  of 
lactation  when  the  cows  are  fresh,  as  is  generally  the  case  in  early 
summer,  the  milk  contains  the  maximum  per  cent  of  volatile  and 
soluble  fats  and  acids  and  the  stale  flavor  is  entirely  absent  in 
butter  made  from  such  milk  or  cream. 

While  the  use  of  a  good  active  starter  generally  assists  in 
minimizing  the  stale  flavor,  it  seldom  will  overcome  it  entirely, 
because  the  natural  flavoring  principles  in  the  milk  and  cream 
which  are  necessary  in  order  to  secure  the  full  benefit  of  the 
starter,  are  lacking  or  are  present  in  insufficient  quantities  in 
cream  from  stripper  cows.  Stale  butter  seldom  grades  " Extras." 

The  stale  flavor  is  frequently  attributed  also  to  old  cream, 
or  cream  having  been  held  too  long  before  churning.  In  most 
cases  of  cream  that  has  been  held  for  a  long  time,  however,  the 
staleness  is  expressed  by  more  specific  off-flavors,  resulting  from 
fermentation,  or  absorption  of  odors  from  environment,  and  it  is 
doubtful  if  the  so-called  stale  flavor  of  butter  can  conclusively 
be  traced  to  old  cream. 

Sour,  Curdy  and  Cheesy  Flavor  and  Aroma. — This  defect  is 
characteristic  of  much  of  the  butter  that  is  made  from  high-acid 
cream,  such  as  gathered  cream  and  cream  shipped  long  distances. 
The  sourness  is  noticeable  particularly  in  the  odor  or  aroma  of 
the  butter.  If  otherwise  perfect  such  butter  usually  scores  a  poor 
"Firsts"  or  a  good  "Seconds."  It  is  rejected  by  the  critical  trade 
and  is  unfit  for  storage  as  it  tends  to  deteriorate  rapidly. 

The  sour  flavor  and  aroma  are  usually  largely  due  to  cream 
that  arrives  at  the  creamery  in  very  sour  condition.  It  may  be 
avoided  by  neutralizing  the  cream  and  thorough  washing  out 
of  the  buttermilk.  Frequently  sour  butter  is  the  direct  result 
of  overripening  the  cream,  or  starter,  or  both,  and  of  leaving  too 
much  buttermilk  in  the  butter.  Attempts  to  produce  high- 
flavored  butter  by  only  slightly  washing  the  butter  and  causing 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  469 

it  to  have  a  milky  brine  tend  toward  the  development  of  a  sour 
flavor  and  aroma. 

High  buttermilk  content,  overripe  cream  and  starter  and 
similar  agencies  are  responsible  also  for  curdy  and  cheesy  flavors 
which  often  accompany  the  sour  flavor,  or  take  its  place.  They 
are  due  directly  to  the  curd  content  of  the  butter.  This  class 
of  flavor  defects  is  characteristic  of  hot  weather  butter  and 
especially  of  butter  made  from  sour,  farm  separator  cream  dur- 
ing the  summer  season.  It  will  appear  as  long  as  the  creamery 
accepts  a  poor  quality  of  cream,  but  may  be  minimized  by 
neutralization,  pasteurization,  the  use  of  a  good  quality  of  starter 
and  expulsion  of  buttermilk  by  thorough  washing. 

Unclean  Flavor. — This  is  a  rather  general  term  and  yet  it 
represents,  in  the  vocabulary  of  the  butter  judge,  a  definite  flavor 
condition  of  the  butter.  Butter  with  an  unclean  flavor  lacks 
the  clean,  delicate,  pleasant,  aromatic  butter  flavor.  Its  taste 
suggests  the  use  of  unsanitary  utensils  and  methods  of  handling 
the  cream,  such  as  unclean  strainers,  especially  cloth  strainers ; 
foul  smelling  cans,  especially  cans  that  are  not  washed  clean,  or 
that  contain  dirty  wash  water  due  to  incomplete  rinsing,  or  that 
were  not  thoroughly  steamed  and  dried  after  washing  'and 
rinsing;  unclean  farm  separators,  as  the  result  of  not  removing 
all  remnants  of  milk,  cream  and  separator  slime  after  each 
separation,  or  not  washing  the  separator  after  each  separation; 
unclean  and  leaky  vats,  pipes  and  conveyors,  churns  and  pack- 
ers; and  unclean  milk  and  cream  and  polluted  wash  water. 

The  unclean  flavor  is  imparted  to  butter  in  two  ways,  by 
direct  incorporation  in  milk,  cream  and  butter,  of  decayed  rem- 
nants of  milk  with  foul  smelling  odors  and  indirectly  by  the 
contamination  of  the  product,  through  these  channels,  with  pu- 
trefactive bacteria,  yeast  and  molds,  thriving  in  decaying  rem- 
nants of  milk  and  developing  products  of  putrefaction  in  the 
cream  and  butter. 

Unclean  flavor  in  butter  can  be  prevented  by  using  clean 
utensils  for  the  production  and  handling  of  milk  and  cream  on 
the  farm,  returning  to  the  farmer  clean,  sterile  and  dry  cream 
cans,  and  keeping  the  equipment  in  the  creamery  in  sanitary 
condition. 


470  BUTTER 

Cowy  and  Barny  Flavor. — Butter  with  a  cowy  flavor  sug- 
gests contamination  with  manure  and  stable  air.  This  flavor  oc- 
casionally is  very  pronounced,  especially  in  some  species  of  dairy 
butter,  in  which  case  the  butter  usually  scores  a  poor  "Seconds," 
The  cowy  flavor  may  be  due  to  milking  cows  whose  udders  and 
flanks  are  plastered  with  manure,  the  handling  and  exposure  of 
milk  and  cream  in  unventilated  stables,  and  not  removing  the  ani- 
mal heat  from  the  milk  or  cream  promptly. 

The  milk  and  cream  which  produce  butter  with  a  cowy  or 
barny  flavor  are  generally  contaminated  with  large  numbers  of 
Bacillus  coli  communis  and  Bacillus  coli  aerogenes.  These  or- 
ganisms are  the  natural  inhabitants  of  the  colon,  or  large  in- 
testine of  the  animal,  and  are  therefore  found  abundantly  in  the 
manure.  The  abundant  presence  of  these  bacilli  in  milk  and 
cream  is  rather  conclusive  evidence  of  the  pollution  of  milk  and 
cream  with  excreta  from  the  cow.  When  milk  and  cream  so  con- 
taminated are  not  promptly  cooled  these  germs  multiply  rapidly 
and  intensify  the  barny  odors  in  the  butter.  For  details  see 
Chapter  IV  on  Care  of  Milk  and  Cream  on  the  Farm. 

Musty  and  Smothered  Flavor. — This  butter  defect  is  gener- 
ally .caused  by  lack  of  prompt  cooling  and  aeration  of  the  cream 
on  the  farm.  The  sealing  up  of  the  warm  cream  in  the  shipping  can 
without  giving  it  any  opportunity  to  give  off  its  animal  heat  is 
generally  believed  to  cause  a  musty,  smothered  flavor.  The  stor- 
ing of  the  cream  in  damp  and  poorly  ventilated  cellars  with  a 
stagnant  atmosphere  is  another  probable  cause  of  musty  flavored 
butter.  The  cause  of  musty  flavor  frequently  also  lies  in  the 
feeding  of  moldy,  musty  and  decayed  foods,  such  as  moldy  hay, 
moldy  silage  and  musty  grain. 

Feed  and  Weed  Flavors. — To  this  group  of  butter  flavors  be- 
long a  variety  of  flavors  characteristic  of  the  feeds  to  which  the 
cows  have  access.  Many  of  these  flavors  are  not  very  pronounced 
and  therefore  not  seriously  objectionable,  but  others  are  very 
marked  and  in  some  instances  greatly  depreciate  the  market 
value  of  butter. 

Since  the  feed  flavors  are  usually  traceable  direct  to  the  charac- 
teristic feeds  producing  them,  or  to  excessive  feeding  of  certain 
types  of  feeds,  or  to  microorganisms  with  which  certain  feeds  are 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  471 

associated,  their  prevention  must  of  necessity  lie -with  the  pro- 
ducer of  milk  and  cream.  The  flavors  due  to  weeds  such  as  gar- 
lic, rag  weed,  etc.,  can  be  guarded  against  only  by  eradication  of 
these  weeds  from  the  pasture.  See  "Garlic  Flavor." 

Roots,  such  as  turnips,  are  best  fed  after  milking  in  order  to 
give  the  feed  time  to  pass  through  and  out  of  the  cow  several 
hours  before  the  succeeding  milking. 

Feed  flavors  caused  by  frozen,  decayed  and  moldy  feed  are 
prevented  by  eliminating  from  the  ration  all  feed  not  in  good, 
sound  condition.  Sour,  moldy  silage,  frozen  and  decayed  roots 
and  tops  of  roots,  damp,  moldy  and  poorly  cured  hay,  damp  and 
musty  straw,  etc.,  should  not  be  fed  to  dairy  cows. 

While  most  of  the  feed  flavors  are  inherent  in  the  milk  and 
cream  which  contain  them  and  therefore  follow  these  products 
into  the  butter  and  while  their  appearance  in  the  butter  is  beyond 
the  control  of  the  great  majority  of  creameries,  many  of  these 
flavors,  not  including  the  garlic  flavor,  and  rag  weed  flavor,  are 
greatly  minimized  by  pasteurization  and  aeration  of  the  cream. 
Pasteurization  assists  in  driving  and  expelling  from  the  product 
volatile  flavors,  odors,  and  gases  and  thus  helps  to  lessen  the  in- 
tensity of  these  flavors  in  the  finished  butter. 

Garlic  or  Wild  Onion  Flavor. — When  the  wild  onion  flavor 
has  once  impregnated  the  milk  or  cream,  it  is  very  difficult  to  keep 
this  objectionable  flavor  out  of  the  butter,  and  butter  made  from 
such  milk  or  cream  usually  grades  a  poor  "Seconds."  It  may  be 
improved  materially,  however,  by  blowing  air  through  the  milk 
or  cream  while  hot  and  by  prolonged  pasteurization  at  a  high 
temperature.  Ayres  and  Johnson1  demonstrated  that  milk  and 
cream  can  be  freed  from  the  wild  onion  flavor  entirely  by  ade- 
quate blowing,  while  these  raw  materials  are  hot.  These  investi- 
gators contrived  a  blowing  equipment  for  blowing  milk  and  cream 
on  a  small  scale,  with  which  they  were  able  to  entirely  remove 
the  onion  flavor  from  milk  heated  to  145°  F  for  five  minutes.  For 
cream  they  recommend  a  somewhat  longer  period  of  blowing  and 
a  temperature  of  160°  F.  Their  work  was  done  with  sweet  cream 
testing  30%  fat.  It  is  probable  that  for  richer  cream  and  for 
cream  that  is  sour,  the  apparatus  devised  would  have  to  be  modi- 

1  Ayres   and  Johnson,   Removal  of  Garlic  Flavor  from   Milk   and  Cream, 
U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  B.  A.  T.  Farmers'  Bulletin  608,  1914. 


472  BUTTER 

fied  somewhat  to  prevent  clogging  and  to  insure  more  complete 
aeration.  The  usual  equipment  and  method  employed  for  this 
purpose  in  the  creamery  are  quite  inadequate  for  complete  re- 
moval of  garlic  flavor  in  sour  cream.  They  fail  to  furnish  the 
volume  of  air  necessary  for  successful  results.  • 

Because  of  the  difficulty  of  even  minimizing  the  garlic  flavor 
in  butter  made  from  garlic-flavored  milk  or  cream,  and  the  im- 
possibility, under  practical  commercial  conditions,  of  removing 
this  flavor  from  the  once  tainted  product,  entirely,  every  effort 
should  be  made  to  keep  this  flavor  out  of  the  milk  on  the  farm. 
There  are  two  ways  to  accomplish  this,  namely,  to  prevent  the 
cows,  so  far  as  possible,  from  obtaining  garlic  and  secondly  to 
manage  the  herd  on  garlic  pasture  in  such  a  manner  as  to  have 
it  suffer  the  least  harmful  effect.1 

Garlic  makes  a  growth  much  earlier  in  the  spring  than  pasture 
grasses,  and  therefore  is  usually  most  troublesome  when  cows  are 
first  turned  to  pasture  and  when  grass  is  not  plentiful.  In  many 
cases  garlic  is  localized  in  the  pasture  and  these  places  should  be 
fenced  off  and  used  for  pasturing  stock  other  than  milk  producing 
cows.  When  the  garlic  is  scattered  about  the  fields  it  is  impos- 
sible to  do  so,  and  the  dairyman  who  would  not  have  the  flavor 
of  the  milk  of  his  cows  impaired  must  so  manage  his  herd  as  to 
overcome  the  difficulty.  The  unpleasant  odor  and  flavor  are 
strongest  in  milk  from  cows  that  have  just  eaten  the  garlic.  If, 
three  or  four  hours  before  milking,  the  cows  are  placed  in  a 
garlic-free  field,  the  trouble  will  be  reduced  to  a  minimum.  If 
such  a  field  is  not  available,  they  may  be  brought  to  the  stable 
yard  and  fed  on  silage  or  hay  and  allowed  to  remain  out  of  doors 
until  the  regular  milking  time.  This  practice  the  dairyman  can 
usually  follow  without  serious  inconvenience. 

The  trouble  caused  by  garlic  is  not  liable  to  last  long,  as  the 
weed  is  usually  cropped  off  by  the  cows  within  a  few  days  after 
they  are  turned  to  pasture,  and  as  soon  as  the  grass  becomes  plen- 
tiful they  will  eat  that  in  preference. 

However  in  years  when  the  season  opens  slowly  so  that  the 
pastures  fail  to  satisfy  the  cows  with  an  abundance  of  grass  for  a 
considerable  period  of  time,  garlic-flavored  cream  may  occur  for 

1  Hoard's  Dairyman,  November  18,  1918. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  473 

many  weeks.     In  the  fall  also  there  is  a  tendency  in  some  sec- 
tions for  this  flavor  again  to  appear. 

The  complete  eradication  of  the  garlic  plant  is  the  most  satis- 
factory method  of  avoiding  trouble  and  is  practicable  on  thejpr- 
dinary  dairy  farm.  Those  interested  in  such  eradication  should 
write  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C,  for 
Farmers'  Bulletin  610,  entitled,  "Wild  Onion;  Methods  of  Eradi- 
cation", and  Farmers'  Bulletin  608,  which  gives  directions  for  re- 
moving the  garlic  flavor  of  milk. 

MOLDY  BUTTER 

The  genuine  moldy  flavor  of  butter  is  usually  due  to  the  pres- 
ence and  growth  in  cream  and  butter  of  certain  species  of  molds. 
Frequently  storage  butter,  that  has  reached  an  advanced  stage  of 
deterioration,  develops  a  very  marked  disagreeable  moldy  odor 
and  flavor. 

Causes  of  Mold  Spots  on  Butter. — The  greatest  objection  of 
moldy  butter,  however,  does  not  lie  in  its  objectionable  flavor, 
but  rather  in  the  appearance  on  and  in  the  butter  of  mold  specks 
and  spots  which  render  it  unsightly  and  cause  much  loss  to  the 
creamery'and  the  butter  dealer. 

This  butter  fault  is  especially  prevalent  in  summer  and  usually 
shows  up  in  the  course  of  a  few  days  after  manufacture.  Whole- 
sale receivers  practically  every  summer  complain  of  moldy  butter. 
They  find  the  butter  to  be  spotted  with  mold  specks  of  a  greenish- 
brown  to  black  color.  These  specks  are  located  largely  on  the 
surface  of  the  butter,  especially  in  the  lower  sections  of  the  butter 
tub.  In  aggravated  cases  the  mold  specks  penetrate  the  butter  to 
a  considerable  depth  and  frequently  they  permeate  the  entire 
tub.  Even  if  butter  scored  an  "Extras"  in  all  other  points,  moldy 
butter  would  be  classed  as  a  "Seconds"  and  would  be  sold  by  the 
dealers  as  such  at  a  great  sacrifice  in  price.  The  difficulty  and 
trouble  of  removing  all  traces  of  mold  from  moldy  butter  is 
great  and  expensive.  Much  butter  is  wasted,  new  tubs  and 
liners  have  to  be  supplied,  and  much  labor  is  required.  Upon 
storage  at  not  very  low  temperature  butter  occasionally  be- 
comes completely  coated  with  a  matting  of  molds.  The  fila- 
ments often  grow  so  long  that  the  surface  is  actually  bearded. 


474  BUTTER 

Unsalted  butter  is  much  more  prone  to  become  moldy  than 
salted  butter,  the  salt  exerting  a  considerable  retarding,  if  not  in- 
hibiting, effect  on  mold  growth.  In  fact,  it  is  frequently  very 
difficult  to  prevent  unsalted  butter  from  showing  moldiness,  in 
spite  of  the'  observance  of  otherwise  successful  and  effective 
precautions. 

There  are  numerous  classes  and  species  of  molds  that  are  capa- 
ble of  developing  mold  spots  on  butter,  such  as  Penicilium,  Tri- 
chosporium,  Streptothrix,  Cladosporium  oidium.  Griepenberg1 
who  examined  storage  butter,  found  that  most  of  the  molds  in 
butter  belonged  to  the  genera  Penicilium  and  Trichosporium  and 
that  of  these,  Penicilium  cruslaceum  and  Trichosporium  collae 
were  the  most  common  species.  Penicilium  glaucum  and  oidium 
lactis  are  also  known  to  be  very  common  molds  of  butter. 
Most  of  these  organisms  thrive  on  the  caseous  matter  of  the 
butter  and  some  are  also  capable  of  splitting  the  butterfat. 

According  to  Thorn  and  Shaw,2  mold  in  butter  usually  takes 
three  forms : 

"1.  Orange-yellow  (red)  areas  with  a  submerged  growth  of 
mycelium,  which  are  produced  by  Oidium  lactis.  Cannot  develop 
in  butter  containing  2.5%  of  salt. 

2.  Smudged  or  dirty-green  areas,  either  entirely  submerged 
or  with   some   surface   growth.    These  are  produced  by  species 
Alternaria  and    Cladosporium.    Cannot   develop   in  butter  con- 
taining 2.5%  salt. 

3.  Green  surface  colonies,  which  are  produced  by  Penicilium, 
or  more  rarely,  Aspergillus,  either  upon  the  butter,  causing  de- 
composition, or  upon   the  container  or   wrapping,   injuring  the 
appearance  of  the  sample  in  the  market." 

The  natural  channels  through  which  butter  becomes  contam- 
inated are  infection  of  milk  and  cream  on  the  farm,  and  con- 
tamination of  cream  or  butter  in  the  factory,  from  the  air  in  ill- 
ventilated  plants,  from  unclean  vats,  pipes,  churns  and  packing 
equipment,  from  impure  starters  and  impure  washwater,  and 
from  mold-infected  material  used  for  packing,  such  as  parchment 
wrappers  and  liners,  and  butter  tubs  and  boxes. 


1  Griepenberg1,   Fleischmann,   Lehrbuch   der  Milchwirtschaft,   p.    324,    1915. 

2  Thorn  and  Shaw.     Moldiness  in  Butter.     Jour.   Agr.  Research.   Vol.   Ill, 
No.  4,  1915. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  475 

Proper  pasteurization  materially  minimizes  the  tendency  of 
butter  to  become  moldy.  It  is  destructive  to  the  majority  of  the 
species  of  molds  usually  found  in  the  cream.1  Pasteurization 
therefore  limits  the  problem  of  preventing  moldy  butter  very 
largely  to  precautions  against  recontamination  of  cream  and  but- 
ter after  the  cream  leaves  the  pasteurizer  and  confines  it  to  the 
sanitary  condition  of  the  air,  vats,  pipes,  pumps,  churns,  wash- 
water  and  packing  equipment  and  material. 

Moldy  butter  has  in  some  instances  also  been  traced  to  con- 
taminated salt. 

The  most  probable  cause  of  the  salt  as  a  source  of  moldy 
butter  lies  in  the  contamination  of  the  salt  in  the  creamery  after 
the  barrel  is  opened.  In  many  creameries  the  salt  is  kept  in  a 
room  none  too  clean  and  in  an  atmosphere  none  too  pure.  If 
the  barrel  is  left  open  the  surface  of  the  salt  is  prone  to  become 
contaminated  with  germ  life  of  the  air  and  may  become  the 
carrier  of  mold.  The  salt  barrels  should  be  stored  in  a  clean 
place  and  a  properly  fitting  cover  should  be  provided  for  rem- 
nant barrels.  Such  barrels  should  be  covered  immediately  after 
each  removal  of  salt. 

Prevention  of  Mold  in  Butter. — Moldiness  in  butter  may 
best  be  prevented  by  observing  the  following  precautions : 

1.  Pasteurize  all   cream,   skimmilk  and  starter  used.      In 
vat  pasteurization  heat  to  at  least  145°  F.  and  hold  not  less  than 
30  minutes.    In  flash  pasteurization  heat  to  180  to  185°  F.    When 
using  the  holding  process  draw  a  pailful  of  cream  from  the  gate 
of  the  vat  as  soon  as  the  temperature  of  the  cream  reaches  145° 
F.  and  pour  it  back  into  the  vat.    This  will  insure  proper  heating 
of  the  cream  located  in  the  gate  and  nipple. 

2.  Use  pure  starter  only.     If  the  starter  is  contaminated 
reject  it. 

3.  Thoroughly  wash,  flush  and  steam  all  vats,  pipes,  con- 
duits and  pumps  daily. 

4.  Rinse  the  churns   daily  with   one  batch  of  hot  water 
containing  some  good  washing-  powder  and  then  with  clean  hot 
water.    The  water  must  have  a  temperature  of  180°  F.  or  over. 
Use  thermometer  to  make  sure.     Lime  the  churns  at  regular 

1  Thorn  and  Ayres — Effect  of  Pasteurization  on  Mold  Spores.     Jour.  Agr. 
Research,  Vol.  VI,  No.  4,  1916. 


476  BUTTER 

intervals,  preferably  once  per  week,  or  whenever  they  show 
signs  of  staleness.  Churns  that  have  been  lying  idle  should 
always  be  limed  and  receive  a  special  cleaning  and  scalding 
before  they  are  pressed  into  service  again.  The  churn  is  the 
most  difficult  piece  of  equipment  to  keep  clean  and  sweet,  and 
it  represents  one  of  the  most  dangerous  sources  of  moldy  butter. 

5.  Do  not  wash  packing  equipment,  such  as  packers,  ladles, 
cubes  and  tubs,  in  dirty  water.     Rinse  them  thoroughly  with 
scalding  hot  water  after  washing  and  store  them  in  a  clean,  dry 
atmosphere. 

6.  Wash  the  butter  thoroughly  to  remove  as  much  as  pos- 
sible of  the  curd  of  the  buttermilk.    Curd  is  a  necessary  food  for 
molds  to  grow  on.    Use  pure  wash  water.    Have  the  wash  water 
tested  bacteriologically  at  reasonable  intervals  and  if  it  contains 
molds  pasteurize  or  filter  it.     If  a  wash  water  storage  tank  is 
used  it  should  be  kept  clean  and  free  from  slimy  material  by 
frequent  scrubbing  out. 

7.  Keep  the  salt  in  a  clean,  dry  place.     Do  not  break  the 
seal    of    the    barrels    until    necessary.     Keep    remnant    barrels 
covered. 

8.  Do   not   store   cubes,   tubs   and   parchment   liners   and 
wrappers  in  a    damp  room.    Keep  them    in    a    clean,  dry    at- 
mosphere and  keep  the  parchment  wrappers  and  liners  in  their 
original  package  until  used. 

9.  Properly  paraffin  all  tubs  and  boxes.  Heat  them  over 
the  steam  jet  until  they  are  "piping"  hot  before  paraffining  and 
use  boiling  paraffin  only.     Do  the  paraffining  as  short  a  time 
as  possible  before  the  tubs  are  used  and  keep  them  inverted  in 
a  clean  place  after  paraffining  and  before  use. 

10.  Soak   parchment  wrappers,   liners  and   circles   from   5 
to   10  minutes  in  boiling  hot  saturated  brine  before  use,  both 
for  salted  and  for  unsalted  butter. 

11.  Incorporate  the  moisture  in  the  butter  properly.    Wet, 
leaky  butter  assists  in  the  spread  of  mold  colonies. 

12.  Pack   the   butter   solidly,   avoiding   air   pockets,    espe- 
cially between  the  butter  and  the  sides  of  the  tub.     Air  favors 
mold  growth, 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  477 

13.  Store  the  butter  in  a  clean,  dry    room  and  keep  the 
temperature  as  low  as  possible.     Molds  grow  best  in  a  moist 
atmosphere  and  at  a    temperature  around  50  to  60°  F. 

14.  Make  the  butter  from  cream  of  low  acidity  (.3%  acid 
or  below).     Molds  prefer  an  acid  medium  for  growth. 

15.  Keep  the  air  in  the  creamery  well  ventilated  and  the 
sewers  and   floors  well   scrubbed.     A   stagnant,   impure  atmo- 
sphere is  often  pregnant  with  mold  spores. 

16.  Spray  the  walls,  ceilings  and  floors  of  butter  storage 
rooms  with  formaldehyde,  at  reasonable  intervals.     Do  not  per- 
mit the  appearance  of  mold  specks  on  walls  and  ceilings. 

For  additional  directions  for  the  treatment  of  liners  and 
wrappers  see  Chapter  XII  on  ''Packing  Butter." 

Yeasty  Flavor  and  Foamy  Cream. — This  flavor  is  the  re- 
sult of  a  yeast  fermentation  of  the  cream.  It  is  most  preva- 
lent in  summer,  particularly  during  the  hottest  summer  weather, 
when  both,  the  days  and  the  nights  are  hot  and  when  the  cream 
is  exposed  to  the  summer  heat  for  a  considerable  length  of 
time.  Yeasty  flavored  butter  seldom  scores  better  than  a  "Sec- 
ond." It  represents  a  very  objectionable  flavor  defect  which 
no  now-known  process  of  manufacture  is  capable  of  entirely 
removing.  Nor  does  it  disappear  while  the  butter  is  held  in 
cold  storage.  This  flavor  stays  in  butter  until  the  butter  is 
consumed. 

Yeasty  cream,  therefore,  should  be  culled  out  at  the  cream- 
ery by  rigid  grading,  and  churned  separately,  if  it  is  accepted 
at  all.  The  adoption  and  practice  of  an  efficient  system  of  cream 
grading  and  paying  on  the  basis  of  quality  is  the  creamery's 
most  effective  immediate  weapon  to  minimize  receipts  of  yeasty 
cream,  accompanied  by  a  systematic  effort  to  acquaint  the 
farmer  with  the  fact  that  the  reason  why  he  received  a  lower 
price  was  that  the  cream  was  yeasty,  and  by  instructions  of 
how  to  best  avoid  the  recurrence  of  this  defect. 

The  fundamental  cause  of  yeasty  and  foamy  cream  lies  in 
the  presence  in  cream  of  yeast  cells.  Most,  if  not  all,  cream 
contains  some  yeast  cells,  but  at  moderate  or  low  temperatures 
they  fail  to  gain  the  ascendency  and  therefore  do  not  develop 
a  yeasty  flavor  in  the  cream  nor  cause  the  cream  to  foam. 


478  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

Yeast  cells  require  a  relatively  high  temperature,  approach- 
ing that  of  the  animal  body,  for  their  greatest  development. 
When  on  the  farm,  or  in  transit,  or  both,  the  cream  is  exposed 
sufficiently  long  to  summer  heat,  so  that  the  cream  itself  be- 
comes warm,  the  development  of  the  yeast  cells  becomes  very 
pronounced  and  very  intense.  Often  it  is  accompanied  by  vio- 
lent gas  production,  frequently  causing  the  lids  of  the  cans  to 
blow  off  and  the  cream  to  foam  over.  In  this  condition  the 
cream  gives  off  a  very  decided  and  objectionable  yeasty  flavor 
similar  to  baker's  yeast,  that  follows  the  product  into  the  fin- 
ished butter. 

If  the  cream  is  cooled  promptly  and  properly  on  the  farm 
when  it  leaves  the  separator  and  is  kept  cool  until  shipped,  it 
usually  reaches  the  creamery  before  it  has  a  chance  to  become 
yeasty  and  foamy.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  cream  is  not 
cooled  on  the  farm,  the  yeast  cells  become  active  at  once  and 
when  this  fermentation  has  once  commenced,  it  goes  on  rapidly 
and  is  stopped  with  difficulty  only. 

It  is  obvious  also  that  the  number  of  yeast  cells  present 
in  the  cream  to  start  with,  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  rapid- 
ity and  extent  to  which  this  defect  develops.  Contamination 
of  the  cream  through  such  channels  as  impure  water,  unclean 
utensils,  unclean  separators  and  cans,  should  be  avoided  as 
much  as  possible,  and  the  cream  producer  should  be  instructed 
to  pay  close  attention  to  the  following  precautions : 

Prevention  of  Yeasty  and  Foamy  Cream. 

1.  Wash   and   scald   all   milk   utensils,   such   as    strainers, 
pails,  dippers,  cans,  etc.,  after  each  use. 

2.  Wash  and  scald  all  parts  of  the  cream  separator  that 
come  in  contact  with  milk  and  cream,  after  each  use. 

3.  Cool  the  cream  as  soon  as  it  leaves  the  separator  to  as 
low  a  temperature  as  possible,  preferably  below  60°  F. 

4.  Use  a  cream  cooling  tank  and  keep  the  cream  in  cold 
water  until  it  leaves  the  farm. 

5.  Protect  the  cream  cans  in  transit  from  summer  heat  by 
covering  them  with  wet  blankets. 

6.  Do  not  allow  the  cans  to  stand  on  the  station  platform 
exposed  to  the  sun  in  hot  weather- 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  479 

7.     Deliver  or  ship  the  cream  often. 

In  the  case  of  the  cream  station  system  of  receiving  cream, 
cream  that  may  have  arrived  at  the  cream  station  in  good  condi- 
tion, frequently  is  yeasty  and  foams  over  by  the  time  it  reaches 
the  central  creamery.  In  this  case  the  yeasty  defect  is  largely 
due  to  faulty  handling  of  the  cream  at  the  cream  station. 

In  order  to  avoid  this  the  cream,  after  it  has  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  shipping  cans,  should  be  set  in  cold  water  or  in 
a  cold  room  and  held  there  until  shipping  time. 

If,  during  hot  weather,  cream  arrives  at  the  creamery  at 
a  time  too  late  for  "dumping"  on  the  same  day,  the  cans  should 
be  rolled  into  the  cooler,  in  order  to  prevent  the  development 
of  foamy  cream  over  night. 

Bitter  Flavor. — The  bitter  flavor  of  butter  is  a  defect,  which 
is  confined  largely  to  dairy  butter.  Its  occurrence  in  creamery 
butter  is  comparatively  rare.  The  bitter  flavor  is  either  present 
in  the  milk  at  the  time  it  is  drawn  or  it  develops  in  the  milk  or 
cream  after  milking.  In  either  case  it  passes  also  into  the 
butter. 

There  are  individual  cows  when  in  poor  physical  condition, 
or  when  they  have  reached  an  advanced  state  of  their  period  of 
lactation,  usually  after  the  sixth  month,  that  yield  milk  that  has 
a  bitter  taste.  In  many  of  these  cases  of  bitter  milk,  the  milk 
is  abnormal  also  in  other  respects.  Often  the  milk  is  very 
viscous  and  produces  cream  that  refuses  to  churn  out;  the  but- 
ter usually  has  a  poor  texture  and  is  greasy.  In  some  instances 
this  bitter  milk  does  not  curdle  in  the  natural  way.  The  exact 
cause  of  this  condition  has  not  been  satisfactorily  determined. 
Weigmann1  suggests  the  probability  that  the  peptonizing  of  the 
milk  proteids  may  yield  bitter-tasting  albumoses  and  peptones, 
but  he  also  mentions  the  possibility  of  the  presence  in  such  milk 
of  special  bitter  substances.  Whether  these  lower  forms  of 
milk  proteids,  the  albumoses  and  peptones,  are  the  result  of 
abnormal  physiological  action  of  the  cows  and  are  therefore 
inherent  in  such  milk,  or  whether  they  are  due  to  bacterial  ac- 
tion by  udder  microorganisms,  is  also  a  matter  not  experi- 
mentally determined.  According  to  Weigmann  certain  species 
of  the  coli  and  aerogenes  groups  of  bacteria,  also  Bacterium 

1  Weigmann— My  kologie  der  Milch,  1911,  p.  132. 


480  BUTTER 

Zopfii  and  Bacterium  lactis  innocuum,  are  capable  of  making- 
milk  bitter.  Jensen1  reports  Streptococcus  casei  amari  as  a 
cause  of  bitter  milk.  Harrison2  discovered  a  lactose-fermenting 
yeast,  which  he  gave  the  name  Torula  amara,  that  produced  a 
bitter  flavor  in  milk  and  cheese  made  in  Canada.  This  organism 
produced  an  intense  bitter  flavor  in  14  hours.  His  investigation 
showed  that  this  yeast  grows  on  the  leaves  of  maple  trees  and 
contaminated  the  milk  by  being  blown  from  maple  trees  into 
the  milk  cans  which  stood  under  these  trees  on  the  farms.  It 
was  necessary  to  steam  these  cans  very  thoroughly  in  order 
to  destroy  this  germ.  Conn,  Burri,  Duggeli,  Freudenreich. 
Govini  and  others3  report  numerous  peptonizing  microorgan- 
isms which  are  capable  of  rendering  milk  and  butter  bitter. 

Bitter  milk  and  butter  frequently  also  are  the  result  of  cer- 
tain feeds  and  weeds  to  which  the  cows  have  access,  among 
these  we  find  lupines,  rag  weed,  beet  tops,  rye  pasture  (ex- 
cessive), raw  potatoes,  and  especially  many  classes  of  decayed 
and  moldy  feed  stuffs,  and  moldy  bedding,  moldy  oat  and  barley 
straw. 

Butter  may  also  derive  its  bitter  flavor  from  the  use  of 
chemically  impure  salt,  especially  salt  containing  relatively 
large  amounts  of  magnesium  salts  or  calcium  chloride,  or  both. 

Butter  made  from  sour  cream  that  has  been  overneutralized, 
or  improperly  neutralized,  especially  when  lime  is  used  as  a 
neutralizer,  is  prone  to  show  a  bitter,  limy,  or  so-called  neutral- 
ized flavor.  For  proper  neutralization  which  will  reliably  pre- 
vent bitterness  from  this  source  see  Chapter  VII  on  Neutral- 
ization. 

Oily  Flavor. — Causes  of  Oily  Flavor. — Oily  flavor  of  but- 
ter is  a  frequent  occurrence  in  creameries  receiving  sour  cream, 
pasteurizing  at  a  high  temperature  and  cooling  by  turning  the 
cream  over  a  surface  cooler.  Butter  which  has  an  oily  flavor 
gives  the  impression  of  having,  and  generally  does  have,  in- 
ferior keeping  quality.  Experience  has  shown  that  such  but- 
ter, when  in  storage  often,  though  not  always,  develops  other 
and  more  objectionable  flavor  defects,  such  as  metallic  flavor 

1  Orla  Jensen.     Die  Bakteriologie  der  Milchwirtschaft,  p.   82. 

2  Harrison.     Landwirtschaftliches  Jahrbuch  der  Schweiz  14,  1900. 
3Weigmann.     Die  Mykologie  der  Milch,  1911. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  481 

and  fishy  flavor.  The  oily  flavor  is  more  prevalent  in  butter 
made  in  summer  than  in  winter.  Oily  butter  is  not  suitable  for 
storage.  It  usually  scores  a  " Seconds." 

The  specific  reactions  which  produce  oily-flavored  butter 
are  not  well  understood,  but  it  is  known  from  practical  ex- 
perience that  high  temperature  pasteurization  and  the  use  of 
a  surface  cooler  for  cooling  the  hot  pasteurized  cream,  are 
prone  to  produce  an  oily  flavor  in  butter.  This  is  especially  the 
case  with  cream  that  is  excessively  sour  at  the  time  of  pasteuriza- 
tion. The  pasteurization  of  very  rich  cream  and  of  cream  that 
has  been  much  diluted  with  water  also  tends  to  make  butter 
oily.  Overworking  of  the  butter  under  certain  conditions  has 
a  similar  effect. 

The  oily  flavor  has  also  been  attributed  by  some  investi- 
gators to  bacterial  action.  Jensen1  isolated  an  organism  be- 
longing to  the  group  of  sour  milk  bacteria,  which  was  capable, 
aside  from  curdling  the  milk  into  a  solid  clot  in  24  hours,  to 
produce  an  unpleasant  odor  and  taste  resembling  that  of  ma- 
chine oil.  The  oily  flavor  was  transmitted  from  the  cream  in 
which  it  developed  to  the  butter.  Others2  claim  that  oily  but- 
ter is  due  to  the  action  of  microorganisms  that  decompose  the 
fat,  such  as  Oidium  lactis,  yeasts  and  liquefying  bacteria.  To 
what  extent  specific  microorganisms  are  directly  responsible  for 
the  oily  flavor  in  butter  is  uncertain,  but  it  is  quite  possible 
that  they  assist  in  bringing  about  such  combinations  of  condi- 
tions as  are  conducive  to  the  development  of  oiliness  and  there- 
by may  become  indirectly  responsible  for  this  defect. 

The  oily  flavor  of  butter  occassionably  may  be  due  to 
causes  other  than  those  pertaining  to  the  process  of  manu- 
facture. It  has  at  times  been  found  to  be  caused  by  the  print- 
er's ink  on  the  butter  carton.  In  this  case  the  oily  flavor  is 
usually  especially  pronounced  on  the  surface  of  the  print  while 
the  interior  of  the  butter  may  be  practically  free  from  this 
defect. 

In  the  case  of  cartons  with  heavy,  solid  coloring,  that  are 
inclined  to  transmit  to  the  butter  an  oily  flavor,  the  danger  can 
be  greatly  minimized,  if  not  entirely  prevented,  by  allowing 

1  Russell— Outlines  of  Dairy  Bacteriology,   1902,  p.   158. 
*  Marshall — Microbiology,   1911,  p.   343. 


482  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

the  cartons  to  dry  out,  either  by  aging  them  or  by  aerating 
them  in  a  warm  room,  preferably  with  the  aid  of  forced  air  cir- 
culation, or  both.  It  is  advisable  to  store  all  printed  cartons  in 
a  dry  room  and  preferably  in  a  moderately  warm  atmosphere. 
This  hastens  the  aging  and  drying  of  the  ink  and  the  expulsion 
of  ink  odors  detrimental  to  the  flavor  of  the  butter. 

Prevention  of  Oily  Flavor. — In  consideration  of  the  above 
observations  concerning  the  causes  of  oily  flavor  in  butter,  at- 
tention to  the  following  points  may  serve  to  overcome  this  de- 
fect or  to  avoid  its  recurrence : 

1.  Do  not  flash  pasteurize  cream  that  is  high  in  acid.     If 
the  cream  cannot  be   secured   in   sweet  condition,   standardize 
its  acidity  to  about  .25%  acid  before  pasteurization.     If  this  is 
not  possible,  use  the  vat  or  holding  process  of  pasteurization. 

2.  Do  not  dilute  cream  with  water.    Instead  of  rinsing  the 
cream  cans  with  water  to  reclaim  the  remnants  of  cream  they 
contain,  blow  these  remnants  of  cream  out  of  the  cans  with 
steam,  inverting  the  cans  over  steam  jets. 

3.  Use  as  little  water  as  possible  when  rinsing  cream  and 
foam  out  of  forewarmers  and  vats.     It  would  be  preferable  to 
use  skimmilk  instead  of  water  for  this  purpose.    If  the  cream  is 
too  rich,  containing  above  about  33%  fat,  dilute  it  with  sweet 
milk,  skimmilk,  condensed  milk  or  dissolved  skimmilk  powder. 
This  adds  solids  not  fat  to  the  cream  and  assists  in  protecting 
the  fat  globules  against  mutilation  during  pasteurization.   Stand- 
ardize  all  cream   to  about  33%   fat  before   the   cream   is   pas- 
teurized. 

4.  Do  not  run  the  flash  pasteurizer  at    excessive  speed. 
Use  a  machine  of  such  capacity  that  crowding  it  is  unnecessary. 

5.  Do  not  expose  the  hot  cream,  while  cooling,  excessive- 
ly to  air  and  light.     In  the  place  of  a  surface  coil  cooler,  use 
a  cooler  which  protects  the  hot  cream  against  these  agents.     If 
no  such  cooler  is  available  run  the  cream  from  the  flash  pas- 
teurizer direct  into  the  vats  and  do  all  the  cooling  in  the  vats, 
preferably  with  the  covers  partly  down. 

6.  Do  not  overwork  the  butter.    Regulate  its  moisture  con- 
tent by  proper  adjustment  of  the  churning  temperature,  rather 
than  by  an  effort  to  reincorporate  water  into  too  firm  butter 
by  overworking. 


BUTTER  DIRECTS  483 

7.  Use  butter  cartons  only  that  are  incapable  of  transmit- 
ting to  the  butter  an  oily  flavor. 

Metallic  Flavor. — By  metallic  flavor  is  generally  under- 
stood a  semblance  in  flavor  to  the  astringent,  puckery  and 
metallic  flavor,  characteristic  of  the  taste  of  metallic  salts,  such 
as  are  formed  by  iron,  copper,  zinc,  etc.,  in  acid  solutions. 

This  flavor  defect  is  not  always  sharply  defined,  often  be- 
ing accompanied  by  other,  more  or  less  pronounced  off-flavors. 
Frequently  it  borders  on  oiliness,  then  again  it  approaches  fishi- 
ness  and  occasionally  it  appears  to  be  a  nuance  of  tallowy 
flavor. 

Causes  of  Metallic  Flavor. — While  direct  contact  with 
metals  and  high  acid  in  cream  are  undeniably  essential  and 
fundamental  factors  in  the  production  of  metallic  flavor  in  but- 
ter, they  do  by  no  means  always  produce  this  defect. 

This  fact  suggests  that  the  metallic  flavor,  similar  to  the 
fishy  flavor  in  butter,  is  the  result  of  a  combination  of  condi- 
tions, of  which  all  the  necessary  elements  are  not  as  yet  def- 
initely known. 

Slight  variations  of  the  factors  making  up  this  combination, 
or  slight  variations  in  the  extent  to  which  the  individual  ele- 
ments of  the  combination  are  present,  appear  to  make  wide  dif- 
ferences in  the  exact  flavor  defect  produced.  The  result  may 
be  the  characteristic  metallic  flavor,  or  it  may  be  an  oily  flavor, 
a  fishy  flavor,  or  a  tallowy  flavor,  etc. 

Thus  experimental  results  of  the  writer  show  that  under 
the  majority  of  conditions,  the  presence  of  traces  of  such  metals 
as  iron  or  copper  or  their  salts,  in  butter  made  from  sour  cream, 
causes  such  butter  to  develop  a  metallic  or  a  fishy  flavor,  while 
the  presence  of  the  same  metals,  or  their  salts,  in  butter  in 
which  the  acid  has  been  completely  neutralized,  will  produce 
a  tallowy  flavor. 

Since  it  is  evident  that  traces  of  metals  or  metallic  salts 
are  an  integral  part  of  the  combination  of  conditions  that  results 
in  metallic  flavor  in  butter,  it  is  obvious  that  the  condition  of 
the  utensils  and  equipment  in  which  the  milk  and  cream  are 
handled  and  in  which  butter  is  manufactured,  exerts  a  far- 
reaching  influence  on  the  production  or  prevention  of  metallic 
flavor. 


484  BUTTER 

Thus  the  use  of  rusty  utensils  on  the  farm,  the  holding  and 
shipping  of  the  cream  in  rusty  cans,  the  use  of  forewarmers, 
pasteurizers,  coolers,  vats,  pipes  and  conduits,  etc.,  in  which 
the  copper  has  become  exposed  and  especially  where  the  cop- 
per surface  is  not  scoured  thoroughly  and  regularly  and  is  per- 
mitted to  accumulate  verdigris,  furnishes  a  logical  basis  for  the 
development  of  metallic  flavor. 

Both  iron  and  copper  are  most  active  in  the  presence  of 
acid  forming  metallic  salts.  Therefore,  this  flavor  defect  occurs 
most  prominently  in  butter  made  from  cream  that  reaches  the 
creamery  in  sour  condition  and  is  churned  sour.  Because  of 
this  fact,  metallic  flavor  is  generally  more  prevalent  and  more 
pronounced  in  summer  than  in  winter  butter,  the  cream  con- 
taining more  acid  during  the  hot  weather  than  during  cold 
weather,  although  metallic  flavor  is  by  no  means  confined  to 
summer  butter,  and  may  appear  at  any  time  of  the  year. 

Flash  pasteurization,  combined  with  the  use  of  the  sur- 
face coil  cooler  for  cooling  the  heated  cream,  further  invites 
metallic  flavor,  partly  because  the  action  of  the  sour  cream  in 
the  presence  of  heat,  air  and  light  on  the  metal  surface  of  the 
cooler,  is  intensified,  and  partly  because  this  method  of  cool- 
ing may  result  in  oily  butter,  which  is  often  a  forerunner  or 
preliminary  stage  of  metallic  flavor. 

For  similar  reasons,  rich  cream  (cream  testing  over  33% 
fat),  and  cream  that  is  excessively  diluted  with  water,  tends  to 
cause  butter  to  develop  metallic  flavor.  As  explained  under 
"Oily  flavor,"  such  cream  contains  a  relatively  low  per  cent  of 
solids  not  fat  and  its  viscosity  is  slight.  This  robs  the  cream 
of  the  protecting  influence  of  the  solids  not  fat,  the  fat  globules 
are  subjected  to  excessive  mutilation  during  flash  pasteurization 
and  yield  more  readily  to  the  oxidizing  influence  of  heat,  air  and 
light,  to  which  they  are  exposed,  while  the  hot  cream  runs  over 
the  surface  cooler. 

The  ripening  and  holding  of  the  sour  cream  in  the  copper 
vats  and  similar  equipment  for  a  prolonged  period  of  time, 
such  as  holding  it  over  night  in  vats  with  profusely  exposed  cop- 
per, may  lend  additional  impetus  to  the  development  of  metallic 
and  similar  off-flavors  in  butter,  accelerating  the  action  of  the 
acid  on  the  metal,  and  the  oxidizing  and  catalizing  action  of 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  485 

the  metallic  salts  on  the  ingredients  of  the  cream  and  possibly 
enhancing  also  bacterial  and  enzyme  action.  Furthermore,  in 
most  vats  several  metals  are  exposed  to  the  cream,  so  that  it  is 
not  improbable  that  this  bimetallic  submersion  in  the  acid  of  the 
cream,  gives  rise  to  a  slight  galvanic  current,  producing  electro- 
lytic action  which  naturally  hastens  the  formation  of  metallic 
salts. 

Finally,  the  churning  of  cream  with  a  high  acid  content 
augments  the  acid  content  of  the  resulting  butter  and  this 
furnishes  an  additional  essential  factor  in  the  combination  of 
conditions  which  cause  metallic  flavor. 

Attempts  to  attribute  the  metallic  flavor  to  the  presence 
in  the  cream  of  specific  bacteria  or  groups  of  microorganisms 
experimentally,  have  proven  abo'rtive.  While  bacteria,  through 
their  power  to  decompose  portions  of  the  ingredients  of  cream 
and  butter,  forming  acid  and  other  cleavage  products,  may 
assist  to  a  limited  extent  in  the  production  of  metallic  flavor, 
they  cannot  be  considered  as  the  specific  cause  of  this  defect. 

Nor  is  the  fact  that  the  metallic  flavor  often  does  not  appear 
in  the  fresh  butter,  but  develops  after  a  considerable  period  of 
storage,  necessarily  indicative  of  bacterial  origin.  A  careful 
study  of  the  available  data  dealing  with  the  causes  of  this  but- 
ter defect  emphasizes  the  complexity  of  the  combination  of 
factors  and  conditions  responsible  for  the  metallic  flavor  and 
the  wide  variations  in  the  rapidity  with  which  this  defect  de- 
velops. On  the  basis  of  the  bulk  of  evidence  it  appears  reason- 
able to  attribute  metallic  flavor  to  chemical  action. 

Prevention  of  Metallic  Flavor. — According  to  our  present 
limited  lights  on  this  subject,  the  most  consistent  means  to 
prevent  metallic  flavor  in  butter  is : 

1.  To  use  rust-free  cream  shipping  cans  and  to  return  to 
the  farmer  cans  only  that  are  clean  and  properly  rinsed  and 
steamed  and  thoroughly  dried. 

2.  To  keep  forewarmers,  pasteurizers,   coolers,  vats,  etc., 
well  tinned,  to  thoroughly  scour  exposed  copper  surfaces,  keep- 
ing them  bright  and  free  from  verdigris,  and  to  flush  the  entire 
system  each  day  before  use  with  hot  water,  thus  removing  any 
water  it  may  contain  and  which  may  have  absorbed  metallic 
salts. 


486  BUTTER 

3.  To  protect  hot  pasteurized  cream  from  air  and  light  by 
cooling  under  cover. 

4.  To  avoid  excessive  dilution  of  cream  with  water  and  to 
standardize  all  cream  before  pasteurization  to  about  33%  fat  or 
below  with  skim  milk  or  milk,  and  to  about  .25%  acid  by  the  use 
of  a  suitable  neutralizer,  in  the  case  of  sour  cream. 

5.  To   not   permit   the   cream   to   lie   in   the   vats   for   an 
abnormal  period  of  time  and  to  churn  it  at  an  acidity  of  about 
.3%  or  below.    Especially  should  cream  not  be  held  over  night 
in  improperly  tinned  copper  vats. 

Fishy  Flavor. — The  fishy  flavor  is  a  defect  especially  com- 
mon with  storage  butter,  though  fishiness  in  fresh  butter  and 
butter  only  one  to  three  weeks  old,  is  by  no  means  a  rare  occur- 
rence. Fishiness  is  a  very  serious  butter  fault,  objectionable  to 
most  consumers  and  one  which  greatly  depreciates  the  market 
value  of  the  product.  Fishy  butter  is  shunned  on  the  open  mar- 
ket. It  seldom  grades  above  a  poor  "Seconds." 

Causes  of  Fishy  Flavor. — Milk,  cream  and  butter  may  be- 
come fishy  in  flavor  when  kept  in  close  proximity  to  fish,  in 
which  case  the  dairy  product  absorbs  the  odor.  The  possibility 
of  tainting  butter  from  this  source  is  pretty  generally  under- 
stood and  recognized.  In  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  the  law 
requires  railway  companies  to  provide  separate  cars  for  the 
carriage  of  fish  and  butter. 

Again,  the  fishy  flavor  of  butter  may  be  due  to  the  cow 
herself.  Weigmann1  reports  a  case  where  an  individual  cow 
which  received  the  same  feed  and  care  as  the  rest  of  the  herd, 
persistently  produced  a  fishy  milk.  The  fishy  flavor  of  her  milk 
was  so  marked  that  when  mixed  with  the  milk  of  the  remainder 
of  the  herd,  the  mixed  milk  also  became  intensely  fishy  in  flavor. 
In  another  case  a  cow  produced  milk  with  a  fishy  flavor  only 
during  the  hot  summer  weather.  This  investigator  further 
states  that  in  Schleswig-Holstein,  Germany,'  the  opinion  prevails 
that  cows  yield  fishy  milk  when  they  pasture  in  the  marshes 
which  are  periodically  flooded  by  the  tide  and  on  the  grasses 
of  which  small  crabs  and  other  sea  fauna  dry  and  decay.  Lew- 
kowitsch2  also  reports  that  fishy  butter  is  met  with  in  Norway, 

1  Weigmann— Mykologie  der  Milch,  1911,  p.  124. 

2  Lewkowitsch — Chemical    Technology    and    Analysis    of    Oils,    Fats    and 
Waxes,  Vol.  II,  1914,  p.  798. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  487 

being  obtained  from  cows  fed  on  fishmeal.  In  contradiction  to 
the  above,  Weigmann  writes  that  even  in  the  case  of  intensive 
feeding  of  herring  meal  or  whale  meal  neither  the  milk  nor  the 
butter  show  signs  of  fishiness. 

Harding,  Rogers  and  Smith1  investigated  the  cause  of  fishy 
flavor  and  odor  in  milk  brought  to  the  New  York  State  Experi- 
ment Station  by  a  milk  dealer.  This  fishy  taint  was  so  pronounced 
that  the  milk  was  of  no  commercial  value,  although  coming  from 
a  dairyman  of  more  than  ordinary  carefulness  in  the  handling 
of  his  herd.  They  found  that  the  defect  was  confined  to  the  milk 
of  one  cow  that  was  fed  on  the  same  feed  and  received  the  same 
care  as  the  other  animals  in  the  herd.  This  cow  was  apparently 
in  normal  condition.  Bacteriological  study  of  her  milk  revealed 
no  microorganisms  capable  of  producing  the  fishy  flavor. 

Piffard2  suggests  that  the  salt,  owing  to  its  ability  to  absorb 
odors  and  flavors  of  material  in  close  proximity,  may  occasionally 
be  responsible  for  fishy  butter.  This  is  improbable,  the  salt  has 
the  power  to  intensify  flavors  but  it  does  not  readily  absorb 
flavors.  The  same  author  holds  that  frequently  fishy  butter 
may  be  due  to  impure  water  with  objectionable  flavor,  to  which 
the  cows  may  have  access  and  which  he  attributes  to  the  devel- 
opment of  diatoms  and  algae,  notably  the  Oscillaria. 

These  cases  of  mechanical  absorption  by  milk  or  butter  of 
the  fishy  flavor,  or  of  fishy  flavor  caused  by  an  abnormal  condi- 
tion of  the  cow  or  the  milk,  are  comparatively  rare.  The  great 
majority  of  causes  of  fishy-flavored  butter  on  the  market  is  due 
to  causes,  deeper  seated,  more  complex  and  more  difficult  to 
prevent.  The  seriousness  of  the  defect  and  the  difficulty  of 
avoiding  it  are  augmented  further  by  the  fact  that  the  fishy  flavor 
of  most  of  the  commercial  butter  does  not  show  up  at  the  churn. 
In  aggravated  cases  it  may  develop  within  the  first  few  weeks 
after  manufacture,  but  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  it  develops 
while  the  butter  is  in  cold  storage. 

The  earlier  studies  of  fishy  flavor  in  butter  and  its  causes, 
dealt  largely  with  efforts  to  discover  specific  bacteria  or  other 

1  Harding,  Rogers  and  Smith.     Notes  on  Some  Dairy  Troubles.     New  York 
State  (Geneva)  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bull.  183,  1900. 

2  Piffard.     Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter.     New  York  Produce  Review  and  Am. 
Creamery,  Vol.  13,  No.  20,  1901. 


488  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

micro-organisms  capable  of  producing  this  flavor.  O'Callaghan1 
attributes  fishiness  in  butter  to  the  mold  Oidium  lactis.  He 
claims  that  this  organism  when  grown  in  conjunction  with  Bacil- 
lus acidi  lactici  in  cream  produces  fishiness  invariably. 

Harrison2  classes  the  fishy  flavor  of  butter  with  bitter,  putrid 
and  lardy  flavors,  the  causes  of  which  he  attributes  to  the  pres- 
ence and  growth  of  undesirable  microorganisms  in  the  cream. 
Jensen3  found  certain  species  of  yeast  that  give  butter  a  fishy 
flavor.  Klein,4  speaking  of  oily,  fishy  and  tallowy  butter,  holds 
that  all  these  butter  defects  may  well  be  considered  specific 
forms  of  rancid  butter,  resulting  from  the  action  of  bacteria. 
Hammer5  isolated  from  a  can  of  evaporated  cream,  which  had  de- 
veloped a  fishy  odor,  a  bacillus  of  the  Proteus  group,  which  he 
named  Bac.  ichthyosmius.  With  this  organism  he  was  able  to 
reproduce  the  fishy  odor  in  milk,  cream  and  evaporated  milk. 
When  inoculated  into  butter,  either  direct,  or  into  sweet  or  sour 
cream,  the  butter  failed  to  show  fishy  odor  or  flavor. 

The  later  studies  and  observations  relating  to  the  causes  of 
fishy  butter  indicate  that  the  direct  cause  of  fishy  flavor  and  odor 
in  commercial  butter  is  attributable  to  chemical  action  rather 
than  to  bacterial  development.  Fleischmann6  states  that  fishy 
and  oily  flavor  is  a  butter  defect  which  appears  only  in  butter 
made  from  sour  cream,  that  it  shows  itself  as  an  augmen- 
tation of  an  aroma  characteristic  of  this  class  of  butter,  carried 
to  the  point  where  it  becomes  offensive  to  taste,  and  that  it 
is  caused  by  certain  species  of  bacteria  which  develop  in  the 
cream  during  souring  and  associatively  with  the  lactic  acid 
ferments. 

Rogers7  found  that  in  all  cases  where  butter  became  fishy, 
the  butter  was  made  from  high  acid  cream,  both  in  the  case  of 
acid  produced  in  the  cream  by  bacteria,  and  of  acid  in  the  form 


1  O'Callaghan — "Cause  and  Remedy  of  Fishy  Flavored  Butter."     The  Agr. 
Gazette  of  N.  S.  Wales,  Vol.   12,  p.  341,  1901. 

O'Callaghan — "Butter  Classification.'  The  Agr.  Gazette  of  N.  S.  Wales, 
Vol.  18,  p.  223,  1907. 

O'Callaghan' — "That  Fishy  Flavor."  Chicago  Dairy  Produce,  April  25, 
1916,  p.  8. 

2  Harrison — "Defects    in    Butter."      Twenty-seventh    Annual    Report    On- 
tario Agr.  Exp.  Sta.,  p.  79,  1901. 

3  Jensen — Die  Bakteriologie  der  Milchwirtschaft,  1913,  p.  24. 
*  Klein — Milchwirtschaft,    1914,   p.    238. 

5  Hammer — Fishiness  in  Evaporated  Milk.     Iowa  Research  Bui.,   1917. 

6  Fleischmann— Lehrbuch  der  Milchwirtschaft,  1915,  p.  322. 

7  Rogers— Fishy   Flavor   in   Butter.     U.   S.   Dept.   Agr.,   B.   A.   I.    Circular 
146,  1909. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  489 

of  lactic  acid  and  acetic  acid  added  to  sweet  cream,  although 
cream  with  high  acid  did  not  uniformly  develop  fishiness.  He 
further  states  that  overworking  of  butter  produced  fishiness 
with  a  reasonable  degree  of  certainty.  He  offers  the  opinion 
that  fishy  flavor  is  caused  by  a  slow,  spontaneous,  chemical 
change  to  which  acid  is  essential  and  which  is  favored  by  the 
presence  of  small  amounts  of  oxygen,  and  that  it  may  be  pre- 
vented with  certainty  by  making  butter  from  sweet  cream;  also 
that  butter  made  from  pasteurized  cream  with  a  starter  but 
without  ripening  seldom,  if  ever,  becomes  fishy. 

In  a  subsequent  publication,  dealing  with  results  on  the 
Manufacture  of  Butter  for  Storage,  Rogers,  Thompson  and 
Keithley1  show  still  more  conclusively  the  freedom  from  fishiness 
in  butter  made  from  unripened  pasteurized  cream,  and  the  ten- 
dency of  butter  made  from  ripened,  raw  or  pasteurized  cream  to 
become  fishy  in  storage. 

Dyer2,  as  the  result  of  a  chemical  study  of  fresh  and  stored 
butter,  concludes  that  "the  production  of  off-flavors"  so  com- 
monly met  with  in  cold  storage  butter  (and  of  which  the  fishy 
flavor  is  a  very  prominent  one)  is  attributable  to  a  chemical 
change  expressed  through  a  slow  oxidation  progressing  in  some 
one  or  more  of  the  non-fatty  substances  occurring  in  buttermilk. 
The  extent  of  this  chemical  change  is  directly  proportional  to 
the  quantity  of  acid  present  in  the  cream  from  which  the  butter 
was  prepared.  Dyer  further  emphasizes  that  the  development 
of  undesirable  flavor  in  butter  held  in  cold  storage  at  a  tempera- 
ture of  0°  F.  is  not  dependent  upon  an  oxidation  of  the  fat  itself* 

The  writer's  experience  has  been  fully  in  accord  with  the 
findings  of  Rogers  and  Dyer,  to  the  effect  that  high  acid  cream 
and  overworking  of  butter  are  conditions  favorable  to  the  devel- 
opment of  fishy  butter.  Fishy  butter  is  very  closely  related  to 
oily  and  metallic  butter.  It  appears  to  be  the  result  of  a  com- 
bination of  certain  factors,  one  of  which  is  high  acidity  and 
another  a  weak  body  of  butter  due  to  overworking,  which 
destroys  the  grain  and  excessively  exposes  the  butter  to  the 
action  of  air.  Other  factors  may  embrace  the  presence  in  the 


1  Rogers,  Thompson  and  Keithley — The  Manufacture  of  Butter  for  Stor- 
age, U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  B.  A.  I.  Bulletin  148,  1912. 

2  Dyer — Progressive   Oxidation  in   Cold   Storage  Butter.     Jour.   Agr.    Re- 
search, Vol.  VI,  No.  24,  1916. 


490  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

eream  and  butter  of  metallic  salts,  such  as  iron  and  copper  lac- 
tates,  which  act  as  oxidizers  and  catalizers,  and  the  presence  in 
the  cream  and  butter  of  diverse  ferments  and  their  products. 
Prevention  of  Fishy  Flavor. — In  order  to  minimize  the 
danger  of  butter  going  fishy  before,  during  and  after  cold  storage, 
attention  to  the  following  phases  of  manufacture  is  recom- 
mended : 

1.  Secure  as  fresh,  sweet  and  unfermented  cream  as  pos- 
sible.    Systematically  grade  the  cream  for  quality  and  churn 
first  and  second  grade  separately. 

2.  Use  only  non-rusty  cans  that  are  thoroughly  cleaned, 
rinsed,  steamed  and  dried  before  they  are  returned  to  the  farmer. 

3.  Keep  the  copper  surfaces  in  forewarmers,  pasteurizers, 
coolers  and  vats  well  tinned,  do  not  permit  exposed  copper  sur- 
feces  to  become  coated  with  verdigris,  wash  all  forewarmers, 
pumps,  pasteurizers,  coolers,  vats  and  conduits  thoroughly  each 
day  and  flush  them  out  again  with  hot  water  immediately  before 
use  the  next  day. 

4.  If  the  cream  arrives  at  the  creamery  sour,  neutralize 
it  to  about  .25%  acid. 

5.  Do  not  dilute  cream  with  water.    If  cream  is  too  rich, 
standardize  it  to  about  33%  fat  by  the  addition  of  sweet  milk  or 
sweet  skimmilk. 

6.  Pasteurize  all  cream,  but  do  not  run  the  heated  cream 
over  an  open  surface  cooler.     Protect  it  against  excessive  ex- 
posure to  the  air  and  light. 

7.  Churn  the  cream  with  an  acidity  of  .3%  or  below. 

8.  Do  not  overwork  the  butter. 

Tallowy  Flavor. — This  butter  defect  refers  to  butter  which 
has  a  distinct  taste  and  odor  of  spoiled  tallow.  Tallowy  butter 
is  usually,  but  not  always,  bleached  in  color,  and  may  be  en- 
tirely white.  Very  old  tallowy  butter  may  change  to  a  pinkish 
brown  color.  Tallowiness  is  a  defect  which  renders  butter 
utterly  unfit  for  the  market. 

Butter  may,  and  frequently  does  develop  a  tallowy  flavor 
and  odor  and  a  bleached  color  within  a  few  weeks  of  the  date 
of  manufacture,  though  this  defect  usually  requires  from  three 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  491 

to  six  weeks  to  become  pronounced  under  commercial  condi- 
tions of  handling  butter.  Tallowiness  is  not  a  usual  cold  stor- 
age defect  of  butter.  In  commercial  cold  storage,  butter  seldom 
goes  tallowy.  This  defect  develops  primarily  in  butter  lying 
in  stores  and  exposed  to  rather  high  temperatures  (room  tem- 
perature). Tallowiness  is  more  prevalent  in  print  butter  than 
in  tub  butter.  The  tallowy  flavor  and  the  bleaching  start  on  the 
surface  of  the  butter  and  gradually  work  into  its  interior.  But- 
ter may  have  turned  very  tallowy  and  perfectly  white  on  its 
surface,  while  the  core  of  the  package  may  still  have  the  nor- 
mal yellow  color,  and  be  free  from  the  tallowy  flavor. 

Causes  of  Tallowy  Flavor. — Tallowiness,  similar  to  ran- 
cidity, is  due  to  a  decomposition  of  the  butterfat.  These  two 
flavor  defects  often  occur  in  the  same  piece  of  butter  and  have 
frequently  been  confused,  or  considered  synonymous.  This  con- 
fusion is  unfortunate,  inasmuch  as  it  has  led  to  misleading  in- 
terpretations of  experimental  results,  rendering  difficult  the 
establishment  of  their  true  causes  and  hindering  efforts  in- 
tended toward  their  prevention. 

A  careful  study  of  the  causes  of  tallowy  butter  shows  that, 
unlike  rancidity,  which  is  the  result  of  hydrolysis  of  the  fats, 
tallowiness  is  due  to  oxidation. 

On  the  basis  of  our  present  knowledge1  relating  to  tallowy 
butter,  the  causes  and  prevention  of  this  defect  may  consist- 
ently be  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  Oxidation  the   Cause   of  Tallowy  Butter. — The  butter 
defect  known   as  tallowy  odor   and  flavor  is  the  result  of  a 
process  of  oxidation.    The  oxidizing  action  may,  or  may  not,  be 
on  the  fat,  according  to  agencies  and  conditions  favoring  the 
oxidation,  as  outlined  in  succeeding  paragraphs. 

2.  Exposure  to  Air,  Light  and  Heat. — Air  readily  brings 
about   oxidation   of   the   fat   in   butter,   and   this   oxidation   is 
greatly  intensified  in  the  presence  of  light  and  heat.     Butter 
so  exposed  is  prone  to  rapidly  develop  a  tallowy  flavor.     This 
fact  is  well  known  to  the  layman.    Tallowiness,  caused  through 
these  channels,  is  comparatively  rare,  because  the  great  bulk  of 
commercial  butter  is  guarded  against  these  agents.    The  wrap- 

a  Hunziker  and  Hosman,  Tallowy  Butter,  Its  Causes  and  Prevention. 
Journal  of  Dairy  Science,  Vol.  I.,  No.  4.  1917. 


492  BUTTER 

pers  and  cartons  of  print  butter  and  the  liners  and  paraffined 
tubs  and  cubes  of  bulk  butter,  protect  the  butter  against  exces- 
sive exposure  to  air  and  light.  While  the  butter  remains  in  the 
creamery,  it  is  usually  kept  at  a  temperature  considerably  be- 
low that  at  which  heat  alone  is  capable  of  producing  tallow- 
mess.  Butter  intended  for  immediate  consumption  (within 
one  to  three  weeks)  does  not  become  tallowy,  even  at  ordinary 
ice  box  temperature,  such  as  it  is  exposed  to  in  the  store  and 
in  the  home,  unless  it  contains  other  agents  that  cause  tallow- 
iness.  The  bulk  of  the  butter  going  to  the  tropics  is  packed  in 
hermetically  sealed  tin  cans,  excluding  the  air  and  light  and 
thereby  greatly  minimizing  the  action  of  heat.  Butter  intended 
for  prolonged  storage,  rarely  develops  tallowiness,  because  the 
low  temperature  of  commercial  cold  storage  sufficiently  retards 
the  action  of  air  and  light.  Although  under  present  commercial 
conditions  of  manufacture  and  handling  of  butter,  air,  light 
and  heat  are  improbable  causes  of  tallowiness,  their  importance 
should  not  be  ignored  and  every  effort  should  be  made  to  pro- 
tect butter  against  these  agents. 

To  run  the  hot  pasteurized  cream  over  a  surface  coil  cooler} 
located  near  windows  with  transparent  panes  or  with  open 
sash,  where  it  is  exposed  to  the  direct  sunlight,  and  possibly 
to  air  currents;  to  keep  the  pasteurizing  vats  open  during  the 
entire  process  of  heating,  holding  and  cooling;  to  work  butter 
on  an  open  table  near  the  window,  and  to  expose  the  butter 
in  the  print  room  and  later  in  storage  excessively  to  air,  light 
and  heat,  are  dangerous  practices,  which  jeopardize  quality  and 
may  readily  lead  to  tallowy  flavor  in  butter. 

3.  Presence  in  Cream  and  Butter  of  Metals  and  Metallic 
Salts. — Oxidizing  agents,  such  as  metals  and  their  salts,  are 
capable  of  turning  butter  tallowy  in  a  very  short  time.  These 
agents  act  as  oxygen  carriers  or  catalizers.  Iron  and  copper 
and  their  salts,  also  the  alloys  of  copper,  such  as  brass  and 
German  silver,  belong  to  this  class.  The  copper,  copper  salts, 
and  the  alloys  of  copper  are  the  most  active  metals,  metallic  salts 
and  alloys  that  enter  into  the  problem  in  commercial  butter- 
making.  Iron  oxide  also  has  specific  catalytic  action  which 
aids  the  oxidation  process,  while  in  the  case  of  iron  bases  and 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  493 

salts  the  action  is  relatively  slight.  Nickel  and  tin  are  practi- 
cally negative  in  this  respect  and  do  not  produce  tallowy  flavor 
in  butter. 

Most  of  the  equipment  used  in  the  handling  of  cream  and 
the  manufacture  of  butter  is  constructed  of  iron  or  copper,  usu- 
ally originally  coated  with  tin.  When  this  tin  coating  wears' 
off,  as  it  always  does  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  the  iron  or 
copper  becomes  exposed,  and  often  the  exposed  iron  is  permitted 
to  rust  and  the  exposed  copper  allowed  to  become  coated  with 
verdigris.  In  this  condition,  these  metals  are  most  active,  con- 
siderable portions  being  dissolved  by  the  acid  in  the  cream  and 
thereby  not  only  act  in  the  cream,  but  also  find  their  way  into 
the  butter,  jeopardizing  its  quality  and  inviting  the  development 
of  tallowy  flavor. 

This  danger  can  best  be  minimized,  if  not  entirely  avoided, 
by  furnishing  the  farmer  with  bright  and  non-rusty  cans  and 
by  preventing  the  cans  from  rusting,  by  systematic  and  thor- 
ough washing,  rinsing,  steaming  and  drying;  keeping  weigh 
cans,  forewarmers,  pasteurizers,  coolers,  pumps  and  pipes  and 
conduits  well  tinned,  thoroughly  cleaning  and  steaming  them 
after  each  day's  use  and  flushing  them  with  hot  water  each 
morning-  before  circulating  the  cream,  so  as  to  remove  any 
remnants  of  water  of  the  previous  day  which  may  be  pregnant 
with  metallic  salts;  removing  the  rust  from  all  parts  of  the 
packing  and  printing  equipment  and  using  wrappers  and  liners 
only  which  are  free  from  metallic  specks.  Water  used  for 
washing  butter  should  be  free,  or  nearly  so,  from  iron. 

4.  Presence  in  Butter  of  Excess  Lactose. — The  presence  in 
butter,  in  excess,  of  specific  compounds  which  are  themselves 
readily  oxidized  may  yield  tallowy  flavor,  as  one  of  their  oxida- 
tion products.  To  these  compounds  belong  lactose,  glucose  and 
glycerol.  Danger  from  these  products  need  be  considered  only, 
however,  when  the  cream  or  butter  is  subjected  to  alkaline  con- 
dition, as  shown  in  the  succeeding  paragraph.  When  butter 
is  made  under  proper  conditions,  and  containing  a  normal 
amount  of  acid,  the  presence  of  lactose  and  similar  compounds 
has  no  injurious  effect  on  its  flavor  and  does  not,  in  itself,  con- 
stitute a  cause  of  tallowy  butter.  In  fact,  the  addition  of  lac- 


494  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

tose   to   butter,   when   in    normal   acid   condition,   may   have   a 
slight  preservative  effect,  improving  its  keeping  quality. 

5.  Neutralization. — The  presence  of  an  unnatural  alkaline 
condition  of  the  butter,  or  of  the  cream  from  which  the  butter 
is  made,  accelerates  any  oxidizing  action  by  rendering  the 
compounds  capable  of  oxidation,  more  susceptible  to  oxidation. 

Over-neutralization  with  any  alkali  very  greatly  intensifies 
the  oxidizing  action  of  all  the  foregoing  agents  and  hastens  the 
development  of  tallowiness.  This  can  be  permanently  pre- 
vented only  by  careful  standardization  of  the  entire  operation  of 
neutralization,  including  the  testing  of  cream  for  acid,  the  prep- 
aration of  the  neutralizer  and  its  addition  to  the  cream.  Guess 
work  in  neutralization  is  one  of  the  most  potent  causes  of  tal- 
lowy butter.  The  butter  should  further  be  protected  against 
direct  contact  with  alkalies,  by  the  complete  removal  from 
churns,  cubes  and  diverse  packing  equipment,  of  all  traces  of 
alkaline  wash  water,  and  by  the  use  of  parchment  wrappers 
that  are  free  from  alkali,  such  as  ammonia,  which  is  used  to 
neutralize  the  sulphuric  acid  employed  in  the  parchmenting 
process. 

Storage  Flavor. — Where  butter  is  held  for  any  considerable 
length  of  time  in  storage,  it  gradually  surrenders  some  of  its 
delicate  flavor  and  aroma  which  is  characteristic  of  good  fresh 
butter,  and  develops  a  peculiar  flavor  known  to  the  butterman 
as  the  storage  flavor.  In  butter  of  good  quality  this  change 
takes  place  very  slowly  and  is  for  a  long  time  hardly  perceptible. 
Rogers1  reports  that,  in  examining  some  millions  of  pounds  of 
butter  made  and  stored  for  the  U.  S.  Navy  Dept.,  sweet  cream 
butter,  almost  without  exception,  kept  through  several  months' 
cold  storage  with  only  slight  changes  in  flavor.  In  butter  of  in- 
ferior quality  the  storage  flavor  generally  develops  rapidly. 

Other  conditions  being  the  same,  the  rapidity  with  which  the 
storage  flavor  develops  depends  largely  on  the  temperature  of 
storage  and  on  the  time  and  temperature  at  which  the  butter 
is  held  before  it  enters  cold  storage.  The  lower  the  tempera- 

1  Rogers,  Factors  Influencing  Changes  In  Storage  Butter.    Address  at  the 
Third  International  Congress  of  Refrigeration,  Washington-Chicago,  1913. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  495 

ture  of  cold  storage  and  the  shorter  the  time  that  elapses  be- 
tween manufacture  and  cold  storage,  the  longer  will  the  butter 
generally  retain  the  desired  aroma  and  flavor  of  fresh  butter. 

The  exact  cause  of  this  flavor  and  the  nature  of  the  decom- 
position products  responsible  for  it  have  not  been  conclusively 
demonstrated.  Experimental  data  suggest  that  this  flavor  is 
principally  due  to  spontaneous  chemical  changes,  in  which 
oxidation  plays  an  important  part  and  that  this  oxidation  is 
accelerated  by  the  presence  of  catalyzers  in  the  form  of  metallic 
salts.  Butter  made  from  a  poor  quality  of  cream,  such  as  cream 
that  has  yielded  excessively  to  fermentation  and  that  is  of  high 
acidity,  develops  storage  flavor  and  its  derivatives  most  rapidly. 
It  is  not  improbable  also  that  the  storage  flavor  represents  a 
forerunner,  or  early  stage,  of  other  off-flavors  which  under  favor- 
able conditions  may  supersede  it  in  the  form  of  metallic  flavor, 
or  fishy  flavor,  etc. 

Rancid  Flavor. — Rancidity  is  fa  very  common  and  Well 
known  butter  defect.  The  rancid  or  strong  flavor  is  a  charac- 
teristic infirmity  of  old  butter.  When  present  to  a  pronounced 
extent  in  butter,  such  butter  is  no  longer  salable  as  "eating" 
butter  and  generally  has  to  be  disposed  of  as  packing  stock 
at  a  great  sacrifice  in  price. 

Cause  of  Rancid  Flavor. — Rancidity  is  a  flavor  and  odor  de- 
fect that  is  due  to  decomposition  of  the  butterfat.  It  is  char- 
acteristic not  only  of  spoiled  butter  or  butterfat,  but  is  a  common 
decomposition  product  of  all  fats  and  oils,  animal  and  vegetable. 
The  chemistry  of  the  reactions  yielding  rancid  flavor  and  odor 
is  not  well  understood,  though  it  has  been  the  subject  of  ex- 
tensive investigations  for  many  years. 

In  the  case  of  butter,  rancidity,  and  especially  the  initial 
phase  of  rancidity,  appears  to  be  due  to  hydrolysis  of  the  butter 
fat,  which  splits  the  glycerides  of  the  fats  into  free  fatty  acids 
and  glycerol.  This  hydrolysis  is  in  all  probability  due  very 
largely  to  bacterial  and  mold  action,  since  the  casein  and  lac- 
tose contained  in  butter  furnish  the  food  elements  necessary  for 
the  bacteria  to  thrive  on. 

The  hydrolysis  of  the  fat  leading  to  rancidity,  however,  is 
not    necessarily    dependent    on    micro-organisms.      It    may    be 


496  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

brought  about  in  pure  butter  fat  and  other  fats  which  do  not 
contain  bacterial  life,  by  enzymic  action  in  the  presence  of  mois- 
ture. Air,  light  and  heat,  and  the  presence  of  catalizers,  such  as 
acids  and  alkalies,  favor  the  development  of  rancidity. 

In  the  case  of  butter,  however,  it  is  conceded  by  the  best 
authorities  that  bacteria  and  molds  are  the  chief  factors  that 
hydrolize  the  fats,  making  the  butter  rancid.  Jensen1  and  Kirch- 
ner2  demonstrated  that  certain  species  of  micro-organisms,  very 
commonly  present  in  butter,  are  capable  of  hydrolizing  the  fat 
in  butter  to  a  very  marked  degree  and  of  producing  butter  with 
an  intense  rancid  odor  and  flavor.  The  chief  of  these  organisms 
are  Oidium  lactis,  Cladosporium  butyri,  Bacillus  fluorescence 
liquefaciens  and  Bacillus  prodigiosus.  Lewkowitsch3  suggests 
the  possibility  that  even  in  the  case  of  rancidity  produced  by 
these  micro-organisms,  the  hydrolysis  may  be  due  to  enzymes 
produced  by  them  rather  than  by  their  direct  action  on  the  fat. 

It  is  generally  accepted  that  in  butter  the  rancid  flavor  and 
odor  are  due  to  the  presence  of  the  free  fatty  acids  resulting  from 
hydrolysis,  and  it  is  well  known  that  especially  the  volatile  fatty 
acids,  such  as  butyric,  etc.,  have  a  pungent  odor  that  resembles 
the  rancid  odor  and  flavor  of  butter.  The  free  fatty  acids  re- 
sulting from  fat  hydrolysis  are  expressed  as,  and  determined  by, 
the  acid  value  of  the  fat.  The  acid  value  would  therefore  ap- 
pear to  be  a  logical  and  correct  measure  of  the  degree  of  ran- 
cidity of  the  butter.  And  in  a  great  many  cases  rancid  butter  is 
accompanied  by  a  high  acid  value,  as  Jensen  has  shown. 

However,  there  is  a  vast  volume  of  experimental  data  on 
record  which  shows  that  quite  often  butter  may  have  intense 
rancidity  while  the  acid  value  of  the  fat  from  this  butter  shows 
no  appreciable  increase  over  the  acid  value  in  fat  from  the 
same  butter  when  fresh,  and  instances  are  also  recorded  where 
a  relatively  high  acid  value  was  not  accompanied  by  a  pro- 
nounced rancid  character  of  the  butter.  In  fact  the  fat  of  per- 
fectly fresh  butter  shows  a  considerable  acid  value. 

It  is  therefore  quite  probable  that  even  in  the  case  of  butter, 

1  Jensen — Ueber  das  Ranzig-werden  der  Butter,  Laridw.  Jahrb.  d.  Schweiz. 
1901. 

2  Kirchner — Berichte  d.  deutsch.  botan.  Gesellschaft,  1888,  p.  101. 

8  Le-wkowitsch — Chemical    Technology    and    Analysis    of    Oils,    Fats    and 
Waxes,  Vol.  I  ,p.  53  ,1914. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  497 

hydrolysis  is  only  the  initial  phase  of  rancidity  and  that  either 
the  free  fatty  acids,  or  the  glycerol,  or  both,  undergo  further  de- 
composition yielding  products  which  produce  and  intensify  ran- 
cidity in  butter,  and  this  further  decomposition  must  of  neces- 
ity  be  an  oxidation. 

In  the  case  of  the  saturated  fatty  acids,  the  action  would  be 
only  very  slight  and  if  at  all,  it  would  probably  be  of  enzymic 
nature.  The  unsaturated  fatty  acids,  of  which  the  oleic  acid 
is  representative,  yield  more  readily  to  oxidation.  They  may 
be  oxidized  forming  fatty  acids  of  higher  molecular  weight, 
such  as  acids  of  the  hydroxy  series.  Or  they  may  be  broken 
down  to  acids  of  lower  molecular  weight,  forming  various  fatty 
acids  such  as  pelarg-omc,  azelaic  acid,  etc.,  which  may  produce 
or  intensify  the  rancid  odor  and  flavor.  Also  aldehydes  formed 
by  the  breaking  down  of  oleic  acid  may  play  a  part  in  the  pro- 
duction of  rancidity ;  this  possibility,  however,  Lewkowitsch  does 
not  consider  probable.  That  the  oxidation  of  the  free  fatty  acids 
plays  a  considerable  role  in  the  production  of  rancid  butter,  is 
therefore  very  probable,  and  is  emphasized  by  the  fact  that 
exposure  of  the  butter  to  air,  especially  in  the  absence  of  re- 
frigeration, and  in  the  presence  of  light  which  intensifies  oxida- 
tion, greatly  hastens  the  development  of  rancidity.  Allen2  also 
holds  that  oxygen  and  light  play  a  considerable  part  in  the 
chain  of  factors  instrumental  in  the  production  of  rancidity. 

Again  it  is  possible  that  the  free  glyverol,  resulting  from  the 
hydrolysis  of  the  fats,  and  which  in  itself  is  neutral,  odorless 
and  tasteless,  may  yield  to  oxidation,  forming  acids  and  alde- 
hydes, many  of  which  have  a  very  pungent  odor  resembling  ran- 
cidity. Browne1  attributes  the  pungent,  irritating  odor  which 
all  rancid  fats  give  off,  especially  on  being  warmed,  to  the  de- 
composition (oxidation)  of  free  glycerol,  forming  acrolein.  He 
found  a  decrease  in  the  percentage  of  glycerol  of  all  fats  when 
they  become  rancid,  the  decrease  being  proportional  to  the  ran- 
cidity of  the  samples. 

Furthermore,  the  lactose  of  butter,  upon  oxidation,  may 
assist  in  the  development  of  products,  similar  to  those  result- 

1  Allen,  Commercial  Organic  Analysis,  Vol.  II,  1912,  p.  313. 
8  Browne,   A   Contribution    to    the    Chemistry    of   Butterfat,    Jour.    Amer. 
Chem.  Soc.     Vol.  21.  1898. 


498  BUTTER 

ing  from  the  oxidation  of  glycerol  and  thereby  constitute  a  fac- 
tor tending  toward  the  production,  modification  or  intensification 
of  -the  rancid  odor  and  taste.  The  small  amount  of  lactose  nat- 
urally present  in  commercial  butter,  however,  must  of  necessity 
limit  the  power  of  this  butter  constituent  as  an  important  agent 
in  this  respect.  < 

In  the  presence  of  our  now  available  information  concern- 
ing the  reactions  responsible  for  rancidity  in  butter,  as  briefly 
outlined  in  the  foregoing  paragraphs,  the  following  summary 
may  serve  to  bring  out  the  most  important  facts  and  proba- 
bilities. 

1.  The  initial  stage  of  rancidity  in  butter  lies  in  the  hydro- 
lysis of  the  butterfat.     This  produces  free  fatty  acids  which, 
when  present  in  considerable  amounts,  produce  a  strong  rancid 
taste  and  odor. 

2.  The  hydrolysis  of  the  butterfat  is   brought   about  by 
bacterial  and  mold  action,  or  by  enzyme  action,  assisted  by  cat- 
alizers  such  as  acids  and  alkalies,  and  in  the  presence  of  water 
and  exposure  to  temperatures  higher  than  those  of  commercial 
refrigeration  of  butter. 

3.  The  rancidity  of  butter  may  be  greatly  intensified  by  the 
oxidation  of  the  free  fatty  acids,  or  of  the  free  glycerol,  or  both. 
The  action  is  greatly  hastened  by  exposure  of  the  butter  to  air. 
light  and  heat. 

4.  Lactose,  upon  oxidation,  may  also  assist  in  the  forma- 
tion of  products  yielding  rancidity. 

5.  The  curd  in  butter  assists  in  the  development  of  ran- 
cid flavor  insofar  as  it  furnishes  desirable  nutrients  for  the  ran- 
cidity-producing organisms  to  thrive  on.     Butter  with  a  high 
curd  content,  other  factors  being  the  same,  therefore  is  more 
prone  to  become  rancid  than  butter  with  a  low  curd  content. 

It  should  be  understood  that  rancidity  is  the  result  of  pro- 
gressive changes  in  butter  and  that  most  butter,  if  kept  long 
enough,  will  ultimately  become  rancid  with  age.  However,  the 
development  of  rancidity  and  the  postponement  of  this  common 
butter  defect  may  be  controlled  with  a  reasonable  degree  of  suc- 
cess, by  so  handling  the  cream  in  its  production  and  the  butter  in 
its  manufacture  and  storage,  as  to  minimize,  if  not  eliminate 


BUTTER  DIRECTS  499 

entirely,  the  agencies  which  are  known  to  contribute  towards 
the  appearance  of  rancid  flavor  and  odor  in  butter.  Attention 
to  the  following  points  will  assist  towards  the  prevention  of 
rancidity  in  butter. 

Prevention  of  Rancid  Flavor. — 1.  Elimination ;  of  bacteria 
and  mold  from  butter.  The  fresher  and  sweeter  the  cream  and 
the  greater  its  freedom  from  objectionable  bacteria  and  mold 
and  from  their  products,  and  the  freer  the  butter  from  curd,  the* 
better  will  such  butter  withstand  decomposition  which  results 
in  rancidity. 

2.  Proper  pasteurization  of  the  cream  and  thorough  washr 
ing  of  the  butter  with  pure  water  greatly  lessens  the  tendency 
of  butter  to  become  rancid.  Pasteurization  destroys  the  germs 
capable  of  producing  rancid  butter.  Thorough  washing  removes 
much  of  the  curd  and  therefore  reduces  the  necessary  foq4 
available  for  rancidity-producing  microorganisms.  Farm-made 
butter  usually  develops  rancid  flavor  and  odor  very  rapidly, 
because  it  is  made  from  raw  cream  teeming  with  germlife  and 
usually  contains  excessive  buttermilk.  Storage  butter  made  dur- 
ing a  pasteurization  experiment  under  the  direction  of  the  author1 
did  not  develop  rancidity  when  made  from  pasteurized  cream; 
raw  cream  butter  when  made  from  ungraded  gathered  cream 
almost  invariably  became  rancid,  while  raw  cream  butter  made 
from  selected  gathered  cream  did  not  show  much  rancidity  in 
storage.  This  emphasizes  both,  the  value  of  pasteurization  and 
the  importance  of  careful  grading  of  cream.  The  housewife  in 
many  European  countries,  who  purchases  a  year's  supply  of  cook- 
ing butter  (Schmelzbutter)  melts  and  boils  it  until  the  curd, 
water  and  other  non-fatty  constituents  have  settled  out  and  the 
fat  has  become  clear.  This  fat  is  stored  in  a  cool  place  (the 
cellar)  in  crocks,  covered  writh  parchment,  and  keeps  almost  in- 
definitely (until  used  up)  without  showing  signs  of  rancidity. 
These  illustrations  emphasize  that  rancidity  can  be  greatly  de- 
layed by  removing  germ  life  and  the  food  on  which  micro- 
organisms thrive.  Efficient  pasteurization,  and  thorough  wash- 

1  Hunziker,    Spitzer    and    Mills,    Pasteurization    of    Sour,    Farm-Skimmed 
Cream,  Produce  Bulletin  208,  1918. 


500  BUTTER 

ing  of  butter  accomplish  this  to  a  large  extent,  provided  that 
recontamination  of  cream  and  butter  is  avoided  by  sanitary  con- 
ditions of  vats,  churns  and  packing  equipment  and  proper  treat- 
ment of  tubs,  cubes,  liners  and  wrappers. 

3.  Protection  of  the  butter  against  air,  light  and  heat,  and 
the  absence  in  it  of  catalizers,  such  as  metallic  salts,  high  acid,  or 
alkali,  will  minimize  the  action  of  rancidity-producing  agencies 
which  may  be  present  in  butter.  Churn  the  cream  at  a  low 
acidity,  do  not  overneutralize  and  put  the  butter  in  the  sealed 
package,  and  refrigerate  it,  as  promptly  as  possible  after  manu- 
facture. 

Woody  Flavor. — This  is  not  a  very  common  flavor  defect 
of  butter,  though  "epidemics"  of  woody-flavored  butter  have 
occurred,  causing  serious  objection  on  the  market. 

The  most  common  cause  of  butter  with  a  woody  flavor  is 
probably  the  churn.  New  churns  that  have  not  been  properly" 
treated  before  use,  may  impart  to  butter  a  woody  flavor.  Churns 
also  that  are  in  unclean  condition,  or  the  wood  of  which  has 
become  decayed,  may  become  infested  with  certain  species  of 
microorganisms,  especially  molds,  that  are  capable  of  giving  the 
butter  a  woody  taste.  Such  conditions  are  especially  liable  to 
happen  with  churns  that  are  not  in  daily  use,  giving  the  micro- 
organisms an  opportunity  to  work  into  the  cracks  between  the 
staves  and  also  into  the  pores  of  the  wood,  where  they  are  diffi- 
cult to  be  reached,  dislodged  or  destroyed,  and  where  they  form 
a  continuous  source  of  contamination  of  succeeding  batches  of 
cream  and  butter.  A  case  of  this  type,  resulting  in  woody-flav- 
ored butter,  was  noted  and  investigated  at  Purdue  University1. 
The  churn  that  produced  the  woody  flavor  was  used  only  once 
per  week.  Investigation  showed  that  the  woody  flavor  was  due 
to  a  mold  lodged  in  the  cracks  of  an  apparently  clean  churn. 
This  mold  produced  the  same  intense  woody  flavor  when  inocu- 
lated and  propagated  in  sterile  milk.  For  treatment  and  disin- 
fection of  churns  see  "Preparation  of  Churn,"  Chapter  X. 

Salt,  packed  in  barrels  of  decayed  and  infected  wood,  is  also 
known  to  be  capable  of  transmitting  to  butter  a  woody  flavor. 

1  Hunziker  and  Switzer.     Results  not  published,  1916. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  501 

Butter  packages,  such  as  tubs,  cubes  and  cartons  made  of  wood 
which  naturally  harbors  an  intensive  woody  odor,  always  lend 
butter  a  woody  flavor.  Hence,  pine  tubs,  boxes  and  cartons  are 
entirely  unsuited  for  packing  butter,  while  spruce,  white  ash, 
hemlock,  etc.,  well  cured  and  dried  and  when  properly  soaked 
before  use,  are  generally  free  from  this  objection. 

However,  even  spruce  and  white  ash  tubs  may  give  butter  in 
storage  a  pronounced  woody  flavor.  In  such  cases  the  woodi- 
ness  is  usually  confined  to  the  surface  of  the  butter  at  the  bot- 
tom and  side,  the  interior  remaining  free  from  it.  The  flavor 
at  or  near  the  outside,  however,  is  frequently  intensely  woody 
and  pound  prints  cut  from  the  outer  portions  of  such  butter  may 
be  practically  ruined  from  the  standpoint  of  the  market. 

When  butter  is  stored  in  tubs  made  from  well  seasoned, 
sound  lumber  of  white  ash  or  spruce,  and  when  they  are  prop- 
erly treated  before  packing,  the  danger  from  woodiness  is  very 
remote.  But  when  the  tubs  are  made  up  of  a  poor  grade  of 
lumber,  and  especially  of  pithy  stayes,  or  lumber  that  is  green 
and  has  not  been  well  seasoned  and  dried,  or  lumber  felled  while 
still  in  sap,  the  woody  odor  is  very  intense  and  there  is  great 
danger  of  woody  flavor  in  butter. 

This  danger  can  be  minimized,  if  not  entirely  overcome,  by 
soaking  the  tubs  over  night  in  brine,  preferably  hot  brine,  and 
by  drying  and  heating  them  thoroughly  over  a  steam  jet  before 
paraffining,  so  that  the  paraffine  will  soak  well  into  the  wood, 
forming  a  uniform  and  complete  coating  that  will  permanently 
stick  and  not  peel  off.  For  further  directions  see  "Preparation 
of  Butter  Tubs,"  Chapter  XII. 

Cooked  or  Scorched  Flavor. — As  the  name  implies,  this 
flavor  is  the  result  of  exposure  of  the  product  to  heat.  It  does 
not  often  appear  in  raw  cream  butter,  but  is  a  frequent  defect  of 
butter  made  from  pasteurized  cream.  It  is  generally  due  to 
heating  to  excessively  high  temperature  or  to  prolonged  exposure 
to  the  heat,  or  improper  application  of  the  process  of  pasteur- 
ization. It  is  probably  the  direct  cause  of  the  action  of  heat  on 
the  caseous  matter  of  the  cream. 

Most  of  the  butter  made  from  pasteurized  cream  has  a  slight 
pasteurized,  or  cooked  flavor  when  fresh.  This  slight  cooked 


502  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

flavor,  however,  disappears  in  a  short  time.  Only  a  strong 
cooked  flavor  is  permanent  in  butter  and  is  therefore  objection- 
able. 

Crowding  the  pasteurizer  and  the  consequent  use  of  too 
much  steam  pressure  is  a  common  cause  of  cooked  flavor.  When 
pasteurizing  under  such  conditions,  the  caseous  matter  in  the 
cream  that  comes  in  direct  contact  with  the  overheated  heating 
surface  becomes  scorched  and  bakes  on  to  the  heating  surface. 
The  scorching  of  the  cream  on  the  overheated  coil  of  the 
pasteurizer  is  also  very  often  the  cause  of  the  scorched  flavor. 

When  butter  made  from  raw  cream  has  a  cooked  flavor,  the 
cause  usually  lies  in  overheating  the  coil  in  the  forewarmer,  by 
forcing  steam  through  it  excessively.  In  this  case  the  coil  usu- 
ally becomes  heavily  coated  with  a  layer  of  burnt  cream.  It  is 
advisable  to  heat  the  coil  in  the  forewarmer  with  hot  water 
instead  of  steam,  in  order  to  avoid  the  cooked  flavor  .in  butter. 

The  cooked  flavor  is  occasionally  confused  with  the  oily 
flavor,  which  is  also  a  frequent  characteristic  of  butter  made 
from  improperly  pasteurized  cream,  as  explained  under  "Oily 
Flavor."  The  two  flavor  defects  have  nothing  in  com- 
mon, neither  in  their  origin,  nor  in  their  relation  to  the  market 
value  of  the  butter.  The  oily  flavor  is  a  serious  butter  defect 
which  is  generally  indicative  of  poor  keeping  quality.  The 
cooked  flavor  is  not  seriously  objectionable,  nor  does  its  pres- 
ence unfavorably  reflect  on  the  keeping  quality  of  the  butter. 

Coarse  Flavor. — This  is  a  rather  indefinite  and  general  ex- 
pression of  butter  flavor.  It  refers  to  butter  that  lacks  the  char- 
acteristic delicacy  of  flavor  of  good  butter,  though  the  butter 
may  have  no  specific  "off-flavor."  Butter  with  a  coarse  flavor 
is  usually  the  result  of  high  acid  cream,  or  overripened  cream 
or  overripened  starter  and  excessive  salt.  The  combination  of 
high  acid  and  high  salt  seems  to  be  particularly  favorable  for 
the  production  of  this  so-called  coarse  flavor,  and  the  presence 
of  undissolved  salt  crystals  further  intensifies  this  defect. 

Butter,  the  flavor  of  which  is  termed  coarse,  is  generally  not 
looked  upon  with  favor  on  the  open  market.  If  it  shows  no  other 
specific  defect  it  usually  grades  as  a  poor  "Firsts."  Its  keep- 
ing quality  is  considered  questionable,  if  not  unreliable. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  503 

DEFECTS  IN  BODY  AND  TEXTURE. 

Properly  made  butter  has  a  firm  body  and  a  waxy  texture. 
The  body  and  texture  of  the  butter  are  controlled  by  the  char- 
acter.of  the  butter  fat  and  the  churning  temperature  primarily, 
and  by  the  conditions  incident  to  the  churning,  washing,  salt- 
ing and  working  of  the  butter.  The  character  of  the  butter 
fat  is  largely  determined  by  its  chemical  composition  and  the 
size  of  the  fat  globules,  factors  which  in  turn  are  controlled  by 
breed,  period  of  lactation  and  feed  of  the  cows,  as  explained 
fully  in  the  chapter  on  the  "Conditions  which  Affect  the  Churn- 
ability  of  Cream,"  Chapter  X. 

Weak-Bodied  Butter. — Such  butter  lacks  a  firm,  solid  body 
that  will  stand  up  well  under  unfavorable  temperature  conditions. 
It  softens  quickly  upon  exposure  to  temperatures  of  about  65°  F. 
and  above.  It  also  is  prone  to  show  excessive  leakiness.  But- 
ter with  a  weak  body  is  usually  the  result  of  too  high  a  churn- 
ing temperature,  or  not  holding  the  cream  at  the  churning  tem- 
perature long  enough  before  churning.  It  may  be  due  also  to 
overworking,  especially  when  excessively  soft. 

The  fundamental  cause  of  a  weak  body  generally  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  cream  from  which  the  weak-bodied  butter  is  made 
was  never  sufficiently  cooled  to  adequately  chill  and  harden  all 
the  butterfat,  especially  those  fats  that  have  a  relatively  low 
solidifying  point.  The  butter  from  such  cream  then  contains 
a  mixture  of  fats,  all  of  which  have  not  been  congealed  and  some 
of  which  are  still  in  a  liquid  or  semi-liquid  state.  Under  these 
conditions  the  mixed  fat,  representing  the  butter,  lacks  firm- 
ness, it  is  "weak,"  and  its  mechanical  stability  readily  collapses 
when  the  butter  is  exposed  to  room  temperature,  or  to  higher 
temperatures,  though  these  temperatures  may  be  considerably 
below  the  melting  point  (90—99°  F.)  of  mixed  butterfat. 

For  the  same  reason  a  weak  bodied  butter  results  when  the 
cream,  though  it  may  have  been  cooled  to  the  proper  tempera- 
ture, is  not  held  at  that  temperature  long  enough  to  enable  the 
fat  to  actually  partake  of  the  low  temperature. 

The  defect  is  further  intensified  when  this  weak-bodied  but- 
ter is  excessively  worked  in  this  soft  condition. 

The  proper  temperature  to  which  cream  must  be  cooled,  in 


504  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

order  to  prevent  the  weak  body  varies  considerably  with  such 
factors  as  breed  of  cows,  period  of  lactation  and  feed ;  the  relation 
of  these  factors  to  the  churning  temperature  and  to  the  firmness 
of  the  butter  is  fully  explained  in  Chapter  X-  " Churning." 

For  the  assistance  of  the  buttermaker  the  prevention  of 
weak-bodied  butter  may  best  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  Thoroughly  chill  the  cream  and  hold  it  at  the  low  tem- 
perature not  less  than  two  to  three  hours  before  churning. 

2.  Do  not  guess  at  the  churning  temperature  but  determine 
it  accurately  with  a  correct  thermometer. 

3.  When  deciding  what  the  churning  temperature  should 
be,  be  guided  by  the  firmness  or  softness  of  the  previous  churn- 
ing and  by  the  time  required  to  complete  the  churning  process. 

4.  Other  conditions  being  the  same,  have  the  cream  at  that 
churning  temperature  at  which  the  butter  will  break  in  about  40 
to  50  minutes. 

5.  Butter  that  breaks  in  20  to  25  minutes  is  prone  to  have 
a  weak  body.     The  cream  from  which  it  was  made  either  was 
not  cooled   low  enough   or   not  held   long  enough   at  the   low 
temperature. 

6.  Cool  the  cream,  according  to  conditions,  to  temperatures 
within  the  range  of  about  45°  to  53°  F.  in  summer  and  about 
54°  to  60°  F.  in  winter.     This  refers  to  cream  churned  in  the 
middle  western  states. 

7.  In  case  the  butter  comes  exceedingly  soft,  let  it  rest, 
in  granular  condition,  in  cold  water  or  ice  water  until  it  has 
hardened,   so   it   can   be   handled   and   worked   without   serious 
danger  of  becoming  greasy. 

8.  Do  not  overwork  soft  butter. 

9.  Points  7  and  8  do  not  prevent  weak  body,  at  this  stage 
the  weak  body  is  already  an  accomplished  fact.     But  they  may 
help  to  minimize  the  unfavorable  consequences  of  the  defect. 

Greasy  Body. — Butter  becomes  greasy  when  worked  ex- 
cessively while  in  very  soft  condition,  due  either  to  too  high 
churning  temperature  of  the  cream,  too  rich  cream,  or  holding 
the  butter  in  the  churn  too  long  before  working,  allowing  it 
to  warm  up,  or  working  it  on  a  table  worker  in  a  warm  room. 
Greasiness  can  be  avoided  by  so  governing  the  churning  tern- 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  505 

perature,  the  period  of  holding  the  cream  at  that  temperature 
and  the  temperature  of  the  wash  water,  as  to  make  the  butter 
have  a  firm  body  when  it  is  worked.  The  butter  should  be 
churned  to  small  granules  and  preferably  washed  with  water  a 
few  degrees  colder  than  the  temperature  of  the  buttermilk. 

The  danger  of  greasiness  is  especially  great  when  churning 
cream  rich  in  fat,  such  as  cream  testing  35  per  cent,  fat  or  over. 
Thin  cream  may  be  churned  at  considerably  higher  temperatures 
without  danger  of  yielding  a  greasy  butter,  than  rich  cream. 
Rich  cream  should  be  churned  at  a  relatively  low  temperature 
and  should  be  held  at  that  temperature  at  least  three  hours  be- 
fore the  churning  process  commences. 

Greasiness  may  be  due  also  to  allowing  the  butter  to  be- 
come very  soft  before  it  is  worked  as  frequently  happens  in 
summer  in  a  warm  churn  room  where  the  butter  is  held  unduly 
long  in  the  churn  or  is  worked  on  an  open  worker.  For  the 
above  reasons  greasiness  is  a  very  common  defect  of  farm  dairy 
butter,  where  facilities  for  cooling  the  cream  and  for  working 
the  butter  in  a  cool  room  are  usually  lacking  during  the  summer 
season. 

Salvy  Body. — Salvy  butter  is  butter  in  which  the  grain  has 
been  destroyed  to  the  extent  to  where  the  granules  have  com- 
pletely lost  their  identity.  This  defect  is  prone  to  appear  in 
butter  that  is  overworked  when  in  a  very  firm  condition,  espe- 
cially when  the  working  is  done  in  the  absence  of  water.  In 
exceptional  cases  the  salvy  body  is  due  to  conditions  independ- 
ent of  the  working  process,  and  may  occur  as  the  result  of 
abnormal  churning  conditions.  In  winter  when,  owing  to  the 
advanced  stage  of  the  period  of  lactation  of  the  great  majbrity 
of  the  cows,  and  also  owing  to  the  character  of  the  feed  ration, 
the  cream  is  very  viscous  and  contains  relatively  small  fat  glob- 
ules, the  cream  churns  with  difficulty.  If  this  cream  happens 
to  be  very  thin  and  has  been  exposed  for  a  long  time  to  a  low 
temperature,  as  is  frequently  the  case  with  hand  separator  cream, 
the  solidification  of  the  fat  globules  may  have  reached  such  a 
stage  that  these  globules  are  so  firm  that  they  coalesce  with 
great  difficulty.  This  prolongs  the  churning  process  and 
frequently  from  one  to  three  hours  are  required  to  make  the 
butter  "break"  and  to  form  large  enough  granules  for  conveni- 


506  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

ent  handling.  This  abnormally  prolonged  agitation  causes  these 
firm  globules  and  small  firm  granules  to  grind  against  each  other 
and  to  strike  the  sides  of  the  churn  until  they  completely  lose 
their  identity,  destroying  the  grain  and  giving  the  butter  a  salvy 
body  and  texture.  Such  butter  is  also  prone  to  be  abnormally 
high  in  moisture.  A  raise  in  the  churning  temperature  of  cream 
of  this  character  sufficient  to  make  the  butter  come  reasonably 
soft,  will  shorten  the  time  required  for  churning  and  avoid  the 
production  of  butter  that  is  salvy. 

Crumbly  Body. — The  brittle  and  crumbly  texture  of  butter 
is  characteristic  of  butter  made  in  late  fall,  winter  and  early 
spring.  Most  creameries  are  troubled  with  this  defect  to  some 
extent  during  the  winter  season.  While  its  consequences  are 
not  fatal,  the  buyer  demands  a  waxy  body  that  permits  of  draw- 
ing a  smooth  plug  with  the  trier  and  the  consumer  criticises 
butter  that  refuses  to  spread  on  account  of  its  brittleness.  The 
hotel  and  restaurant  trade  particularly  objects  to  crumbly  but- 
ter, because  they  find  it  very  difficult  to  cut  it  into  neat  slabs 
and  cubes  ready  for  the  table.  Crumbly  butter  refuses  to 
respond  to  knife  or  wire.  On  a  weak  market,  crumbly  butter 
often  sells  at  a  sacrifice. 

Causes  of  Crumbly  Body. — There  are  two  fundamental 
causes  of  crumbly  butter,  neither  of  which  is  under  the  control 
of  the  butter  maker,  namely,  the  cow  and  the  feed.  In  winter 
the  great  majority  of  the  cows  are  well  advanced  in  their  period 
of  lactation.  Cream  from  stripper  cows  contains  predominat- 
ingly very  minute  fat  globules.  The  small  fat  globules  do  not 
bind,  together  readily  when  the  cream  churns,  they  are  firm  and 
persist  in  retaining  their  individuality.  They  do  not  yield  so 
readily  to  the  forces  which  overcome  the  surface  tension.  They 
remain  intact  and  are  prone  to  form  small,  smooth-surface, 
round,  firm,  shot-like  granules,  which  do  not  pack  readily  and 
which  lend  the  butter  a  short-grain  and  loose  body  of  consid- 
erable firmness.  This  fact  was  conclusively  demonstrated  by 
the  author1  in  experiments  to  determine  the  effect  of  the  size 
of  the  fat  globules  on  the  moisture  content  of  butter.  In  these 
experiments  milk  was  separated  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  produce 

1Hunziker,  Mills  and  Spitzer,  "Moisture  Control  of  Butter."     I.  Factors 
not  under  Control  of  the  Buttermaker.     Purdue  Bulletin  159,  1912. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  507 

churnings  of  cream  in  which  the  small  globules,  and  churnings 
in  which  the  large  globules,  respectively,  predominated.  The 
large-globule  cream  churned  quickly  and  yielded  a  soft,  pliable 
butter  that  packed  readily.  The  small-globule  cream,  on  the 
other  hand,  churned  slowly,  produced  small,  round,  smooth  and 
hard  granules  which  did  not  pack  readily  and  which  made  a 
very  firm,  crumbly  and  brittle  butter,  from  which  it  was  impos- 
sible to  draw  a  solid  plug. 

The  second  fundamental  cause  of  the  tendency  of  winter 
butter  to  be  crumbly  lies  in  the  feed  the  cows  receive  during 
the  winter  season.  Dry  feed  and  most  of  the  common  concen- 
trates always  increase  the  firmness  of  butter.  If  the  winter 
ration  contains  hay  or  corn  fodder  and  liberal  quantities  of  such 
concentrates  as  cottonseed  meal,  bran,  etc.,  the  butter  fat  in 
the  cream  will  contain  a  relatively  small  percentage  of  the  fats 
with  low  melting  point,  such  as  olein,  and  a  relatively  high  per- 
centage of  the  fats  with  high  melting  point,  such  as  stearin, 
palmitin,  myristin,  etc.,  and  the  resulting  butter  will,  therefore, 
be  firm  and  tend  to  be  crumbly.  Potatoes,  beets  and  beet  tops, 
apples  and  cornsilage  also  produce  high  melting  fats  conducive 
of  firm  and  crumbly  butter. 

Prevention  of 'Crumbly  Body. — It  is  obvious  from  the  above 
discussion  that  the  fundamental  causes  of  crumbly  butter  may 
be  eliminated  entirely  by  a  change  to  winter  dairying  whereby 
the  cows  are  so  bred  that  most  of  them  freshen  in  the  fall,  yield- 
ing milk  in  which  the  large  globules  predominate;  and  by  the 
addition  to  the  feed  ration  of  such  feeds  as  have  a  tendency  to 
produce  butter  fat  of  a  lower  melting  point,  such  as  linseed  meal, 
glutenfeed,  etc. 

The  dairy  man  who  makes  butter  on  the  farm  has  the  fac- 
tors of  period  of  lactation  and  feed  largely  under  his  control  and, 
therefore,  is  in  a  position  to  avoid  crumbly  butter  by  the  intel- 
ligent adjustment  of  these  factors.  The  average  creamery  which 
draws  its  cream  supply  from  a  large  number  of  farms  which  are 
often  scattered  over  a  wide  area,  cannot  hope  for  relief  from 
crumbly  butter  by  any  efforts  to  remove  these  fundamental 
causes,  and  must,  therefore,  aim  to  minimize  their  effect  by 
modifications  in  the  process  of  manufacture. 

The  only  means  available  to  the  creamery  to  prevent  crum- 


508  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

bly  butter  is  to  churn,  wash  and  work  at  temperatures  suffi- 
ciently high  to  secure  a  reasonably  soft  butter  that  binds  and 
compacts  readily  and  makes  the  butter  pliable.  Churn  at  a  tem- 
perature that  will  insure  the  formation  of  moderately  soft,  flaky 
granules,  instead  of  small,  round,  hard  granules,  then  wash  the 
butter  with  wash  water  of  the  same  temperature  as  that  of  the 
buttermilk,  or  possibly  a  degree  or  two  higher,  especially  in  a 
cold  churn  room,  and  work  it  sufficiently  to  secure  a  waxy,  tough 
texture. 

The  crumbly  body  of  butter  is  frequently  also  attributed  to 
frozen  cream.  There  is  no  evidence  on  record  that  the  freezing 
of  cream  has  any  appreciable  influence  on  the  body  of  the  butter, 
but  it  is  quite  possible,  that  improper  methods  of  thawing  of 
frozen  cream,  causing  it  to  "oil  off,"  may  intensify  the  tendency 
of  winter  butter  to  be  crumbly.  See  also  Chapter  VI  on  the 
"Handling  of  Frozen  Cream." 

Faulty  pasteurization,  in  which  the  cream  is  permitted  to 
"oil  off,"  as  may  be  caused  by  the  use  of  excessively  high  tem- 
peratures, or  by  allowing  the  cream,  while  hot,  to  lie  in  the  vat 
undisturbed  and  without  agitation,  will  intensify  the  crumbly 
butter  defect  for  the  same  reason  as  is  the  case  with  faulty 
handling  of  frozen  cream. 

The  crumbliness  of  brittle  butter  is  augmented  by  exposure 
of  such  butter  to  very  low  temperatures.  Butter  that  is  inclined 
toward  brittleness  and  that  is  intended  for  the  critical  hotel  trade, 
should,  therefore,  be  held  in  a  room  at  a  moderate  temperature, 
so  that,  at  the  time  of  delivery,  it  is  not  excessively  firm  and 
will  lend  itself  more  readily  to  the  slab  cutter.  Such  hotels 
might  also  advantageously  be  cautioned  not  to  expose  this  butter 
to  abnormally  low  temperatures  before  cutting.1 

Mealy  Body. — 'Mealy  butter  is  butter  that  lacks  the  smooth, 
velvety  texture  of  well-made  butter.  It  is  a  defect  that  is  critic- 
ized by  the  buyer,  and  when  the  mealiness  is  very  pronounced, 
it  is  seriously  objected  to. 

Causes  of  Mealy  Body. — In  the  great  majority  of  cases 
mealy  butter  is  due  to  a  hardened  condition  of  the  particles 
of  casein,  resulting  from  excessive  exposure  to  heat  in  the  pres- 
ence of  high  acid,  as  is  the  case  when  heating  sour  cream  to  too 

1  It  is  advisable  to  work  butter  that  is  inclined  to  be  crumbly  very  thor- 
oughly, even  to  the  extent  of  slight  overworking. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  509 

high  a  temperature,  heating  too  slowly,  holding  at  pasteurizing 
temperature  too  long,  or  not  cooling  rapidly  enough. 

The  acid  in  sour  cream  changes  the  casein  to  casein  lactate, 
and  precipitates  it  into  very  fine  flakes,  or  particles  of  curd.  Van 
Slyke  and  Hart1  found  that  the  casein  is  changed  to  casein  lac- 
tate, when  the  amount  of  lactic  acid  in  cream  exceeds  .5  per  cent. 
In  sweet  cream  the  casein  is  largely  in  the  form  of  calcium  casein 
and  some  free  casein. 

When  this  sour  cream  is  heated  for  a  prolonged  period  of 
time,  as  is  often  the  case  in  the  holding  process  of  pasteurization, 
these  particles  of  curd  contract,  expel  much  of  their  moisture, 
become  firm  and  dry  and  give  both  the  cream  and  the  resulting 
butter  a  mealy  texture.  The  mealiness  is  noticeable  in  the 
hot  cream,  and  in  the  cream  after  cooling,  quite  as  much  as  in 
the  butter.  Mealy  cream  always  makes  a  mealy  butter. 

Mealiness  of  this  type  does  not  occur  in  sweet  or  slightly 
sour  cream,  because  in  such  cream  the  casein  is  present  in  its 
original  and  unchanged  form.  It  has  not  been  acted  upon  by 
the  acid,  it  has  not  been  precipitated.  However,  acid  alone  does 
not  make  cream  and  butter  mealy.  The  particles  of  curd  in  the 
raw  sour  cream  are  soft.  It  is  only  in  the  presence  of  very  high 
heat  or  upon  prolonged  exposure  to  heat,  that  sour  cream  be- 
comes mealy  and  makes  mealy  butter. 

Mealiness  resulting  from  the  above  causes  can  be  avoided 
by  shortening  the  time  required  to  heat  the  cream  to  the  pas- 
teurizing temperature,  by  not  exceeding  145°  F.  in  the  holding 
process,  by  holding  for  30  minutes  only  and  by  cooling  rapidly. 
Under  proper  conditions,  such  as  adequate  steam  supply,  ample 
size  of  steam  and  water  pipes  leading  to  the  vat  pasteurizer  and 
adequate  heating  surface,  the  heating  to  145°  F.  can  usually  be 
done  in  about  15  minutes.  Experience  has  shown  that,  where 
the  temperature  can  be  raised  to  145°  F.  in  15  minutes,  there  is 
very  little  danger  of  the  cream  and  butter  becoming  mealy.  If 
the  time  required  to  heat  to  145°  F.  exceeds  30  minutes  it  is 
more  difficult,  and  under  certain  conditions  impossible,  to  avoid 
mealiness. 

Mealy  butter  is  also  almost  invariably  produced  from  sour 

*  Van  Slyke  &  Hart,  "The  Proteids  of  Butter  in  Relation  to  Mottled  Butter/* 
New  York  State  (Geneva)  Agr.  Bxpt  Station  Bull.  263,  1905. 


5 10  B UTTER 

cream  that  is  aerated  by  blowing  cold  air  through  it,  while  the 
cream  is  being  heated.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  longer  time 
required  for  raising  the  temperature  to  145°  F.  The  blowing  of 
the  cream  with  cold  air,  as  ordinarily  practiced  in  our  creameries, 
prolongs  the  period  of  heating  from  10  to  15  minutes,  which  is 
sufficient  to  excessively  harden  the  particles  of  curd  and  to  make 
cream  and  butter  mealy,  when  the  condition  of  the  cream  is  such 
as  to  favor  mealiness. 

t  When  persistent  trouble  from  mealiness  is  experienced  and 
when  it  is  desired  to  blow  the  cream,  the  danger  from  mealiness 
may  best  be  avoided  by  blowing  the  cream  while  cold,  or  with 
hot  air  after  the  temperature  of  145°  F.  has  been  reached.  Blow- 
ing the  cold  cream,  however,  is  less  effective  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  purpose  for  which  the  blowing  is  done,  i.  e.,  to  remove 
objectionable  flavors  and  odors.  The  volatile  substances  respon- 
sible for  these  flavors  and  odors  are  expelled  more  readily  from 
hot  cream  than  from  cold  cream. 

.  The  reduction  of  the  acid  in  the  cream  by  neutralization 
does  not  prevent  mealiness.  In  fact  practical  experience  has 
demonstrated  that  the  excessive  use  of  lime  hydrate  in  sour 
cream  tends  to  intensify  rather  than  minimize  mealiness. 

A  further  cause  of  mealiness  of  this  type  lies  in  the  improper 
use  of  lime  in  the  process  of  neutralization.  When  neutraliza- 
tion is  done  in  an  approved  manner  and  as  directed  in  Chapter 
VII,  the  danger  of  mealiness  is  removed. 

Another  type  of  mealiness  of  butter  is  that  which  is  due  to 
a  peculiar  granular  condition  of  the  butterfat,  similar  to  that 
of  renovated  butter.  In  this  case  the  mealy  body  of  the  butter 
is  not  due  to  the  grainy  condition  of  the  cream,  but  to  granu- 
lated fat.  This  type  of  mealiness  is  not  confined  to  butter  made 
from  sour  pasteurized  cream,  it  may  occur  as  well  in  sweet  cream 
butter.  It  appears  whenever  the  cream  is  subjected  to  condi- 
tions that  will  cause  it  to  "oil  off."  When  this  cream  with  the 
"oiled-off"  or  "run-together"  butter  oil  is  subsequently  cooled 
and  the  fat  hardens,  the  fat  granulates  and  refuses  to  return 
to  its  original  mechanical  condition,  and  the  granulated  fat  gives 
the  butter  a  mealy  consistency. 

This  species  of  mealiness  does  not  appear  in  the  cream  while 
hot;  it  becomes  noticeable  only  after  cooling  and  in  the  finished 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  511 

butter.  It  is  caused  either  by  faulty  pasteurization  or  by  im- 
proper handling  of  frozen  cream. 

If,  during  the  process  of  pasteurization  the  hot  cream  is 
allowed  to  repose  in  a  vat  without  agitation,  as  may  be  the  case 
with  flash  pasteurized  cream  that  is  not  run  over  a  continuous 
cooler,  or  with  vat  pasteurized  cream  with  the  coil  at  rest  during 
the  holding  period,  there  is  a  tendency  for  the  butter  fat  to  run 
together,  "oil-off"  and  gather  in  the  form  of  butter  oil  on  the 
surface  of  the  cream.  When  the  cream  is  subsequently  cooled 
this  butter  oil  crystallizes  or  granulates^  giving  the  butter  a 
mealy  body.  This  can  best  be  avoided  by  guarding  against 
excessively  high  temperatures  of  pasteurization  and  by  keeping 
the  cream  thoroughly  agitated  while  hot  and  until  it  has  been 
cooled  to  a  temperature  at  which  the  butterfat  congeals,  i.  e., 
about  70°  F.  or  below. 

The  experience  of  many  creameries  has  been  that  in  winter, 
when  some  of  the  cream  arrives  at  the  factory  in  frozen  condi- 
tion, butter  is  prone  to  be  mealy,  and  the  mealy  condition  of 
such  butter  has  therefore  been  attributed  to  frozen  cream.  A 
careful  study  by  the  author  of  this  phenomenon  has  shown  that 
frozen  cream,  as  such,  does  not  produce  mealiness,  but  that 
frozen  cream  may  and  does  become  the  cause  of  mealiness  in- 
directly by  improper  handling  of  this  cream. 

For  further  details  see  Chapter  IV  "Receiving  Milk  and 
Cream." 

Finally,  experience  has  shown  that  mealiness  resulting  from 
either  of  the  two  fundamental  causes,  the  curd  precipitation  and 
the  "oiling-off"  of  the  fat,  is  characteristic  more  especially  of 
the  use  of  the  holding  process  of  pasteurization  than  the  flash 
process.  In  the  flash  process  the  cream  is  heated  and  cooled 
quickly,  not  giving  the  particles  of  curd  sufficient  time  to  con- 
tract and  harden  excessively,  and  the  cream  is  subjected  to 
continuous  agitation  until  it  is  cooled,  thus  largely  preventing 
the  "oiling-off"  of  the  fat.  Butter  resulting  from  the  flash 
process  usually  has  a  clearer  and  smoother  body  and  is  more 
completely  free  from  mealiness  than  butter  made  from  cream 
pasteurized  by  the  holding  process. 

Summary  of  Prevention  of  Mealiness. — In  brief,  then,  the 
mealy  body  of  butter  can  be  avoided  by : 


512  BUTTER 

1.  So  regulating  the  temperature  of  pasteurization  and  the 
period  of  exposure  to  pasteurizing  temperature,  as  to  avoid  the 
excessive  contraction  of  the  curd  in  the  sour  cream.    Heat  rap- 
idly, do  not  exceed  145°  F.  in  the  case  of  the  holding  process, 
limit  the  time  of  holding  to  30  minutes  and  cool  rapidly.     Do 
not  blow  the  cream. 

2.  Preventing  the  cream  from  "oiling-off."  Keep  the  coil  in 
the  vat  revolving  during  heating,  holding,  and  until  the  cream 
is  cooled  to  70°  F.  or  below. 

Do  not  heat  the  frozen  cream  to  a  temperature  higher  than 
95°  F.  and  hold  it  at  that  temperature  until  it  has  become  fluid. 

Leaky  Body. — This  defect  is  characteristic  of  salted  butter 
only.  Unsalted  butter  seldom,  if  ever,  shows  real  leakiness.  In 
leaky  butter  much  of  the  water  present  is  incompletely  incor- 
porated in  the  fat  and  oozes  out  profusely  when  such  butter  is 
handled,  cut,  packed,  shipped  and  stored.  When  bored  with 
the  trier,  brine  runs  freely  from  the  plug,  and  when  the  plug 
is  squeezed,  there  is  further  escape  of  moisture. 

Leaky  butter,  owing  to  the  ready  escape  of  moisture,  gen- 
erally suffers  excessive  loss  in  weight  between  the  churn  and 
the  market,  as  well  as  in  storage.  Leaky  butter  usually  also  has 
an  objectionable  briny  flavor  suggesting  excessively  high  salt 
content,  although  the  actual  percentage  of  salt  it  contains  may 
not  be  high  and  may  even  be  below  the  average.  The  briny 
flavor  in  this  case  is  due  to  the  direct  appeal  to  the  palate  of  free 
brine.  For  these  several  reasons  leaky  butter  is  not  looked  up- 
on with  favor  by  the  buyer. 

Causes  of  Leaky  Butter. — Because  the  leaky  body  is  large- 
ly confined  to  salted  butter  only,  this  defect  has  been  attributed 
to  faulty  methods  of  salting  and  working,  and  the  popular  im- 
pression prevails  that  such  is  the  case.  Within  relatively  nar- 
row limitations  leakiness  may  be  intensified  or  minimized  by 
the  processes  of  washing,  salting  and  working,  but  the  funda- 
mental cause  of  leakiness  lies  prior  to  these  processes,  it  has  to 
do  with  the  treatment  the  cream  receives  preparatory  to  the 
churning  process. 

Leakiness  is  due  to  incompleteness  and  consequent  in- 
stability of  the  emulsion  of  buttermilk  (or  water)  in  fat,  and  this 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  513 

emulsion  occurs  during  the  churning  process.  The  complete- 
ness and  permanency  of  the  water-in-fat  emulsion  is  depend- 
ent on  the  relative  mechanical  firmness  of  the  fat  at  the  time 
of  churning. 

If  the  butterfat  in  the  cream  in  the  churn  has  previously 
been  thoroughly  chilled  by  cooling  to,  or  below,  the  proper 
churning  temperature  and  by  holding  it  at  that  temperature  for 
the  necessary  length  of  time,  leaky  butter  is  not  likely  to  result. 
Butterfat  in  this  condition  yields  an  emulsion  of  water-in-fat 
that  is  relatively  stable.  The  finely  divided  water  droplets  are 
firmly  held  in  this  compact  fat. 

When  salt  is  added  to  and  worked  into  butter  made  from 
incompletely  chilled  cream,  the  loosely  held  emulsion  of  water- 
in-fat  is  disturbed  and  partly  broken.  The  emulsion  yields  to 
the  salting-out  process.  The  water  droplets  are  not  firmly 
enough  locked  up  in  the  body  of  the  butter  to  resist  the  attraction 
of  the  salt.  The  salt  draws  them  together  into  drops  and  larger 
aggregates;  which  leak  freely  from  the  butter. 

Even  when  efforts  are  made  on  the  part  of  the  buttermaker 
to  harden  this  butter  in  the  churn,  either  by  churning  the  cream 
with  ice  or  by  holding  the  butter  for  a  considerable  length  of 
time  in  ice  water,  a  really  good  body  can  not  be  recovered.  The 
defect  may  be  somewhat  minimized  by  these  remedial  prac- 
tices but  the  damage  has  already  been  done,  and  the  butter  will 
have  a  distinctly  weak  body  that  will  not  stand  up  well  under 
adverse  temperature  conditions,  and  that  is  prone  to  be  leaky. 

If  cream  has  been  cooled  to  a  point  where  the  fat  becomes 
thoroughly  chilled,  as  it  should  be,  churning  at  a  temperature 
slightly  too  high  does  not  produce  leakiness,  the  fat  is  still 
of  good  firmness,  because  it  does  not  respond  to  temperature  changes 
rapidly,  being  a  poor  conductor  of  heat  and  cold. 

This  leaky  butter  defect  appears  largely,  though  not  wholly,  only 
in  the  spring  and  early  summer.  This  is  the  time  when,  due  to 
the  freshening  of  the  cows  and  the  change  from  dry  feed  to 
succulent  pasture,  the  melting  and  solidifying  points  of  the 
butterfat  drop  rapidly. 

The  average  buttermaker  fails  to  fully  appreciate  this  rapid 
change  in  the  character  of  the  butterfat  he  receives  in  the  spring, 
and  he  often  does  not  respond  quickly  enough  to  this  change 


514  BUTTER 

with  an  adequate  lowering  of  the  churning  temperature.  There- 
fore the  tendency  of  spring  and  early  summer  butter  to  be  leaky. 
The  incomplete  chilling  of  the  cream  in  early  summer  is  in  many 
cases  the  result  of  an  insufficient  supply  of  cooling  medium  and 
inadequate  vat  capacity  to  handle  the  great  volume  of  cream 
that  arrives  during  the  flush. 

Leaky  butter  may  result  at  any  other  time  of  the  year, 
whenever  the  temperature  of  the  cream  before  churning  is  not 
low  enough  and  the  period  of  holding  at  this  temperature  is  not 
long  enough  to  thoroughly  chill  the  fat. 

Rich  cream  is  more  apt  to  make  a  leaky  body  than  thin 
cream,  unless  the  rich  cream  is  churned  at  a  lower  temperature. 
If  the  cream  of  different  churnings  varies  in  per  cent  fat  con- 
siderably, it  is  more  difficult  to  have  successive  churnings 
of  butter  of  good  body  and  free  from  leakiness.  The  standard- 
ization of  each  churning  for  fat  greatly  assists  the  buttermaker 
in-  his  efforts  to  produce  a  perfect  body,  with  reasonable 
regularity. 

The  tendency  toward  leakiness  is  intensified  also  by  any  agency 
that  is  prone  to  mutilate  or  tear  apart  the  body  of  the  butter. 
Churns  that  tear  the  butter  during  the  working  process  are 
more  apt  to  yield  a  leaky  butter  than  churns,  the  workers  of 
which  squeeze  it.  The  tearing  and  chopping  of  the  butter  during 
the  working  disturb  the  texture  and  tend  to  liberate  some  of 
the  otherwise  firmly  held  water  droplets. 

Summary  on  Prevention  of  Leaky  Butter. — When  the  butter- 
maker  is  troubled  with  leaky  butter  he  should  pay  attention  to 
the  following  phases  of  manufacture: 

1.  Standardize  each  churning  to  a  uniform  percentage  of 
fat,  preferably  between  30  and  33  per  cent. 

2.  Thoroughly  chill  the  fat  in  the  cream  by  cooling  the 
cream  to  a  temperature  low  enough  and  holding  it  at  this  tem- 
perature long  enough  to  secure  firm  butter  granules.     Unless 

cooling  facilities  permit  the  cooling  of  the  cream  to  far  below 
the  desired  churning  temperature,  the  cream  should  be  held  at 
the  temperature  cooled  to  for  not  less  than  two  hours,  and 
preferably  three  hours. 

3.  Work  the  butter  until  visible  water  pockets  have  disap- 
peared and  the  butter  has  a  compact,  solid,  tough,  waxy  body. 


BUTTER  DE^CTS  515 

This  is  possible  only  with  butter  made  from  cream  that  has  been 
thoroughly  chilled  before  churning. 

Gritty  Body. — This  defect  is  due  to  the  presence  in  butter 
of  undissolved  salt  crystals.  Grittiness  is  highly  objectionable 
to  the  consumer,  it  conveys  the  impression  of  excessive  salt, 
and  gives  the  butter  a  seemingly  strong  salty  and  coarse  flavor. 
In  properly  salted  butter  all  the  salt  is  present  in  complete  solu- 
tion. The  more  complete  the  solution  and  distribution  of  the 
salt,  the  more  salt  butter  will  stand  without  tasting  objection- 
ably salty. 

The  usual  factors  which  enter  into  the  presence  or  absence 
of  grittiness  of  butter  are,  moisture  content,  temperature  of  but- 
ter, amount  of  working,  amount  and  temperature  of  salt  added 
and  size  and  shape  of  salt  crystals. 

As  shown  in  "Composition  of  Butter,"  Chapter  XVIII,  100 
pounds  of  water  at  ordinary  temperature  is  capable  of  dissolving 
and  holding  in  solution  35.94  pounds  of  salt,  so  that,  theoret- 
ically, butter  containing  say  15  per  cent  moisture  is  capable 

15  x  35  94 

of  holding  in  solution r-r^-1 —  5.39  per  cent  salt.     Owing 

1UU 

to  the  very  fine  division  of  a  part  of  the  moisture  in  butter,  the 
salt  added  to  butter  is  incapable  of  gaining  access  to  and  of 
utilizing  all  the  moisture  present  in  butter  during  the  brief  time 
during  which  butter  is  worked.  In  reality,  butter  containing  16 
per  cent  moisture,  makes  possible  the  complete  solution  of  not  to 
exceed  about  4.5  to  5  per  cent  of  salt,  although  this  same  amount 
of  water,  if  freed  from  the  other  butter  constitutents  is,  in  fact, 
capable  of  dissolving  salt  equivalent  to  a  salt  content  in  butter, 
of  5.75  per  cent.  Butter  containing  more  than  this  amount  of 
salt,  therefore,  is  prone  to  be  gritty.  All  conditions  which  tend 
towards  a  low  moisture  content  invite  the  production  of  gritty 
btitter,  unless  the  amount  of  salt  added  is  reduced  correspond- 
ingly. 

Insufficient  working  of  the  butter  is  another  very  common 
cause  of  gritty  butter.  When  butter  is  of  normal  texture  it 
should  be  worked  until  the  salt  is  dissolved  and  all  signs  of 
grittiness  have  disappeared. 

Finally  the  size  and  shape  of  the  salt  crystals  may  become 
responsible  for  grittiness.  The  use  of  very  coarse  salt  and  espe- 


516  BUTTER 

cially  if  such  crystals  are  of  cube  shape,  retards  solution,  while 
reasonably  fine  crystals  enhance  solution.  Too  fine  salt  also  is 
undesirable  because  it  tends  to  paste  and  cake  in  the  butter  and 
thereby  hinders  ready  solution  and  even  distribution.  Salt  of 
the  proper  degree  of  fineness  will  pass  through  a  sieve  with  28 
to  30  meshes  to  the  inch. 

DEFECTS  IN  COLOR. 

As  previously  stated,  the  color  of  butter  must  be  of  the 
intensity  desired  by  the  market  where  it  is  sold. 

According  to  Palmer1  the  natural  yellow  color  of  cream  and 
butter  is  derived  from  two  classes  of  yellow  pigment,  the  carotin 
and  xanthophyll,  which  accompany  the  green  chlorophyll  of 
plants.  These  yellow  pigments,  particularly  the  carotin,  are 
found  in  the  blood  of  the  cow  and  it  is  in  this  way  the  carotin 
passes  from  the  feed  to  the  milk  gland  where  it  associates  itself 
with  the  milkfat.  Palmer  classifies  the  following  feeds  with 
reference  to  their  carotin  content  and  consequent  property  to 
make  yellow  cream  and  butter  as  shown  below.  This  classifica- 
tion explains  why  cows  fed  on  green  pasture,  as  is  the  case  in 
early  summer,  produce  a  deep  yellow  butter,  while  in  winter 

High  Color  Low  Color 

Carotin-Rich  Feeds.  Carotin-Poor  Feeds. 

Green  pasture  grass,  especially     A11  ha>T  that  has  lost  its  green 

when  fresh  in  the  spring  or         color  in  curinS'  such  as  most 
-  .j  timothy  and  clover  hay. 

Dry  corn  fodder  (corn  stover). 
Hay,  cured  with  a  large  part  of     A1f  corn   silage>   except   when 

its  original  green  color,  such         very  new. 

as  most  western-cured  alfalfa     Straw,  all  kinds. 

hay.  Corn,  both  yellow  and  white. 

All  soiling  crops.  Wheat 

~                    .    ,  t  All  so-called  mill  by-products, 

Green  corn  fodder.  ,            ,         ,          , 

such  as  wheat  bran,  brewers 

Very  new  corn  silage.  grains>  cottonseed  meal,  lin- 

Carrots,  and  other  yellow  roots  seed    meal,    natural    gluten- 

and  tubers.  feed,  etc, 

1  Palmer— The  Yellow  Color  in  Cream  and  Butter.     Missouri  Circular  74, 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  517 

when  they  receive  largely  dry  fodder  and  grain  by-products,  the 
butter  has  a  very  light  yellow  and  often  an  almost  white  color. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Channel  Island  breeds,  the  Jersey 
and  Guernsey,  are  capable  of  yielding  a  much  more  yellow  butter 
than  the  Holsteins  and  Ayrshires.  This  is  explained  by  Palmer 
to  be  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  some  breeds  (Jerseys  and 
Guernseys)  make  use  of  more  feed  carotin  than  others  (Hoi- 
steins  and  Ayrshires). 

It  is  also  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that  the  natural 
color  of  butter  varies  with  the  period  of  lactation.  Palmer 
states  that  no  breed  difference  in  color  exists  immediately  after 
parturition,  the  colostrum  milk  of  all  cows  being  very  highly 
colored  due  to  a  relatively  large  amount  of  carotin  in  the  milk- 
fat.  As  the  period  of  lactation  advances  the  intensity  of  the 
color  decreases.  In  the  case  of  the  Jerseys  and  Guernseys  the 
color  does  not  diminish  as  rapidly  and  not  to  so  great  a  degree 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Holsteins  and  Ayrshires,  so  that  even  in 
winter  when  most  of  the  cows  approach  the  end  of  the  period  of 
lactation  and  when  the  carotin  content  of  the  feed  ration  is  low, 
the  Channel  Island  breeds  are 'still  producing  a  light  yellow 
butter,  while  the  butter  of  the  Holsteins  and  Ayrshires  is  almost 
white.  This  is  explained  to  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Channel 
Island  breeds  are  storing  up  a  reserve  of  carotin  in  their  body 
fat  in  summer  when  the  succulent  pasture  supplies  them  with  an 
abundance  of  carotin  and  on  which  they  draw  in  fall  and  winter 
when  the  feed  is  largely  devoid  of  this  coloring  pigment,  while 
the  Holsteins  and  Ayrshires  are  unable  to  do  this  to  the  same 
extent. 

In  order  to  satisfy  the  demand  of  the  butter  market  and  to 
maintain  uniformity  of  color  at  a  time  of  the  year  when,  espe- 
cially in  Holstein  and  Ayrshire  localities,  the  natural  color  of 
butter  is  practically  white,  artificial  butter  color  is  added. 

Too  High  Color. — As  previously  stated  the  trend  of  the  best 
butter  trade  is  toward  a  light,  straw-colored  butter.  In  these 
markets,  therefore,  butter  with  a  deep  golden  yellow  color  is  not 
desired.  While,  in  winter,  when  the  natural  color  of  butter  is 
very  light,  the  buttermaker  is  in  a  position  to  meet  these  demands 
by  modifying  the  amount  of  artificial  color  added,  in  early  sum- 


518  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

mer,  when  most  of  the  cows  freshen  and  have  access  to  green 
pasture,  the  butter  is  often  so  intensely  yellow,  without  any 
addition  of  artificial  butter  color,  that  it  is  criticized  as  being 
too  high  in  color.  This  is  especially  true  with  butter  produced 
in  localities  where  the  Jerseys  and  Guernseys  predominate. 

In  the  great  majority  of  complaints  by  the  trade,  too  high 
color  is  due  to  carelessness  or  accident  on  the  part  of  the  butter- 
maker.  In  this  case  it  is  caused  either  by  incorrect  calcula- 
tion of  the  amount  of  butterfat  in  the  churning  on  which  he 
bases  the  amount  of  artificial  butter  color  to  add,  or  careless 
measuring  of  the  butter  color,  or  not  modifying  the  proportion 
of  butter  color  used  in  accordance  with  a  sudden  change  in  the 
natural  color  of  the  cream,  especially  in  the  spring  of  the  year, 
or  a  change  to  a  new  brand  of  stronger  butter  color,  or  butter 
color  from  the  bottom  of  the  drum  which  may  contain  an  ac- 
cumulation or  concentration  of  the  coloring  principle  due  to 
settling. 

The  prevention  of  these  difficulties  is  obvious.  The  butter- 
maker  should  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  the  trade  objects  to 
uneven  and  excessive  coloring  in  butter  and  that  it  expresses 
its  objection  in  discounting  the  value  of  the  butter  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  net  returns  to  the  creamery.  It  does  not  pay  to 
overcolor  butter. 

Too  Light  Color. — This  is  a  shortcoming  for  which  butter  is 
seldom  criticized  and  only  in  very  isolated  markets  which  insist 
on  a  high-colored  butter  throughout  the  year.  The  excessively 
light  color  is  usually  due  to  the  season  of  the  year  and  occurs 
only  during  the  winter  months  when  the  cows  are  receiving  dry 
feed  only  and  no  artificial  butter  color  is  added  to  the  cream. 
It  can  readily  be  remedied  by  the  addition  of  the  proper  amount 
of  artificial  butter  color. 

In  some  instances  the  lack  of  yellowness  may  be  due  to  the 
bleaching  of  the  color  of  the  butter  after  the  butter  is  made  and 
packed. 

This  is  usually  due  to  an  oxidizing  action  taking  place  in 
the  butter,  either  on  the  butterfat  itself  or  on  other  ingredients 
which  butter  may  contain.  See  "Tallowy  Butter." 

The  bleaching  of  butter  may  also  be  the  result  of  holding 
butter  in  water.  In  hotels  and  restaurants  where  the  butter  is 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  519 

cut  into  small  slabs  for  table  use,  these  slabs  are  generally 
dropped  from  the  butter  cutter  into  ice  water.  In  the  case  of 
salted  butter,  if  these  slabs  are  permitted  to  remain  in  this  water 
for  any  considerable  length  of  time,  portions  of  the  surface 
begin  to  bleach,  giving  the  butter  a  mottled  appearance.  Con- 
tinued exposure  will  bleach  .the  entire  surface,  the  mottles  be- 
come very  indistinct,  but  the  color  on  the  surface  of  the  slabs  is 
much  lighter. 

This  type  of  bleaching  can  be  readily  and  entirely  avoided, 
as  demonstrated  by  the  work  of  Hunziker1,  by  dropping  the 
slabs  of  salted  butter  into  a  solution  of  25  per  cent  brine  instead 
of  water.  In  this  case  there  is  but  one  kind  of  liquid  present 
and  that  is  brine,  brine  in  the  butter  and  brine  surrounding  it, 
no  interchange  of  liquids  takes  place  and  there  is  no  bleaching. 

If  the  slabs  consist  of  unsalted  butter  they  do  not  bleach 
when  dropped  into  water,  because  here  again  there  is  but  one 
liquid  and  that  is  water,  water  in  the  butter  and  water  surround- 
ing it,  there  is  no  cause  for  interchange  of  liquids  and  there  is  no 
change  in  the  color  of  trie  slabs.  See  also  "Mottled  Butter." 

Excessive  working  of  salted  butter  also  has  a  marked 
whitening  effect  on  the  butter.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  in 
normally-worked  butter  the  average  size  of  the  water  drop- 
lets is  relatively  large  and  this  lends  the  salted  butter  a  relatively 
clear,  deep  yellow  color.  Overworking  causes  a  finer  division 
of  these  water  droplets  and  this  in  turn  produces  a  lighter  and 
more  opaque  appearance,  more  nearly  like  that  of  unsalted 
butter,  in  which  the  water  droplets  always  average  much  smaller 
in  size. 

Dull  Color. — Much  of  the  butter  made  in  some  creameries 
has  a  dull  and  lifeless  color.  This  is  usually  the  result  of  at- 
tempts to  incorporate  a  high  per  cent  of  moisture,  and  overwork- 
ing. When,  in  an  effort  to  incorporate  moisture,  the  butter  is 
overworked  to  the  extent  to  where  the  grain  of  the  butter  is 
destroyed,  the  fat  granules  lose  their  bright  lustre.  The  large 
amount  of  moisture  held  by  the  fat  in  very  minute  droplets  and 
very  complete  emulsion,  together  with  the  very  firxe  division  of 
the  air  in  the  butter,  also  resulting  from  overworking,  hides  the 

1  Hunziker — Defects  in  the  Coloring  of  Butter.  Address  American  Asso- 
ciation of  Creamery  Butter  Manufacturers,  Chicago,  February  18,  1919. 


520  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

bright  yellow  color  and  gives  the  butter  a  dull  and  lifeless 
appearance. 

It  is  obvious  that  this  defect  can  readily  be  avoided  by  in- 
corporating a  normal  amount  of  moisture  and  not  overworking 
the  butter.  The  difficulty  of  incorporating  the  desired  amount 
of  moisture  in  butter  that  is  naturally  very  firm  and  dry,  and 
does  not  readily  take  up  and  hold  moisture,  in  order  to  secure  a 
reasonable  overrun,  may  best  be  overcome  by  raising  the  churn- 
ing temperature  sufficiently  to  give  the  butter  a  somewhat  less 
firm  body. 

Mottled  and  Wavy  Butter.  General  Description. — Uneven- 
ness  in  the  color  of  butter  is  shown  in  the  butter  in  the  form  of 
streaks,  waves  and  mottles.  Streakiness  or  waviness  refers  to 
butter  in  which  the  unevenness  in  color  shows  in  the  form  of 
layers  or  waves  of  different  shades  of  yellow,  the  color  in  the 
layer  or  wave  itself,  however,  may  be  perfectly  uniform.  In  the 
case  of  mottles  the  butter  is  dappled  with  spots  of  lighter  and 
deeper  shades  of  yellow  throughout  its  body. 

Unevenness  in  color,  and  especially 'mottles,  in  butter,  are  a 
serious  defect  from  the  standpoint  of  its  market  value.  This 
defect  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  quality  of  the  butter,  mottled 
butter  is  just  as  good  and  just  as  wholesome  as  butter  that  is  not 
mottled.  But  while  the  criticism  of  the  trade  is  a  superficial  one, 
the  objection  is  no  less  real.  Butter  that  is  otherwise  perfect 
and  might  score  a  good  "Extras,"  if  it  is  mottled,  clears  as  a 
"Seconds"  and  is  sold  on  that  basis  by  the  dealer. 

Causes  and  Prevention  of  Mottles. — Extensive  experiments 
by  Hunziker  and  Homan1  have  shown  that  the  causes  of  mottles 
are  due  to  the  following  factors : 

1.  Mottles   are   caused  by  an  uneven  distribution  of  the 
water  droplets  in  butter. 

2.  The  white,  opaque  dapples  in  mottled  butter  are  caused  by 
the  presence,  or  localization  of  innumerable  very  small  water  drop- 
lets. The  small  size,  high  curvature  and  large  number  of  these  drop- 
lets bend,  refract  and  deflect  the  rays  of  light  to  such  an  extent 
that  they  render  the  butter  opaque  and  give  it  a  whitish  appear- 
ance.2 

1  Hunziker  &  Hosman.     A  Study  of  the  Causes  of  Mottles  in  Butter.    Blue 
Valley  Research  Lab.,  Chicago  1918  and  1919.     Journal  Dairy  Science,  Vol.  Ill, 
No.  2,  1920. 

2  The  opacity  is  further  intensified  by  the  difference  in  the  refractive  in- 
dex between  butterfat  and  water. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  521 

3.  The  clearer  and  deeper  yellow  blotches  in  mottled  butter  are 
caused  by  absence,  or  the  relatively  small  number  of  the  very  small 
droplets  or  by  the  presence  of  a  larger  number  of  large  droplets,  or 
both.     Both,  the  absence  of  any  water  droplets  and  the  presence  of 
relatively  large  droplets   and    aggregates    of    drops,    minimize   the 
refraction   and   deflection   of  the   rays   of   light,   permitting  the 
rays  to  enter  sufficiently  to  give  the  butter  a  clearer  and  more 
translucent  body  and  revealing  more  of  the  natural  golden  yellow 
color  characteristic  of  butterfat. 

4.  The  reason  why  unsalted  butter  always  has  an  opaque  whit- 
ish color,  and  never  is  mottled,  lies  in  the  fact  that  in  unsalted  but- 
ter, regardless  of  the  amount  of  working,  the  water  is  always  pres- 
ent in  the  form  of  exceedingly  minute  and  innumerable  water  drop- 
lets of  uniform  size  and  distribution,  giving  the  entire  body  of  but- 
ter a  uniform  opaque  whitish  appearance.     The  permanency  of  this 
uniform  white  appearance  is  due  to  the  absence  in  unsalted  butter 
of  agents  capable  of  breaking  this  fine  emulsion  of  water-in-fat. 

5.  The  reason  why  salted  butter  always  has  a  clearer  and 
deeper  yellow  color  than  unsalted  butter,  lies  in  the  fact  that  the 
salt,  due  to  its  action  on  the  curd  and  to  its  great  affinity  for 
water,  draws  the  more  loosely  held  small  droplets  together  into 
larger  aggregates,   it  makes   the   emulsion   of  water-in-fat  less 
complete,  it  diminishes  the  refraction  and  deflection  of  the  rays 
of  light  and  makes  the  butter  more  translucent. 

6.  Salted  butter  at  the  churn  is  never  mottled,  because,  even  in 
insufficiently  worked  butter  the  distribution  of  the  large  droplets 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  working  process  is  sufficiently  complete  to 
hide  the  localized  sections  of  the  very  minute  droplets. 

7.  Salted  butter,  when  insufficiently  or  unevenly  worked,  in- 
variably becomes  mottled  upon  standing,  because  in  such  butter  the 
fusion  and  the  emulsification  of  brine  and  water  are  incomplete. 
Owing  to  the  difference  in  concentration,  and   to  osmosis   be- 
tween brine  and  water,  interchange  and  migration  of  brine  and 
water  takes  place  in  the  butter  at  rest.     This  causes  the  more  loosely 
held,  larger  water  droplets  to  run  together  into  larger  aggregates  and 
the  portions  of  butter  containing  these  fewer  but  larger  droplets 
show  themselves  as  and  represent  the  clearer,  more  translucent  and 
deeper  yellow  blotches  of  mottled  butter. 


522 


BUTTKR 


Size  of  Water  Droplets  in  Light  and  Dark  Portions  of 
Mottled  Butter. 

Magnified  740  times. 


Fig.  82.    Dark  portions 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  523 

The  running-together  of  the  larger  droplets  simultaneously  also 
uncovers  the  localized  sections  of  innumerable  very  small  droplets 
which,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  working  process,  were  hidden  by 
the  larger  droplets.  And  the  appearance  of  these  aggregates  of 
very  small  droplets  brings  to  view  the  opaque,  dense,  whitish 
dapples  of  mottled  butter. 

8.  The  reason  why  salted  butter,  when  sufficiently  and  evenly 
worked,  does  not  show  mottles  upon  standing  lies  in  the  fact,  that 
in  such  butter  the  large  droplets  resulting  from  the  action  of  the 
salt,  have  been  redivided  and  remulsified  in  the  butter  and  the 
fusion  of  brine  and  water  has  become  relatively  complete.   Hence 
there  is  practically  only  one  kind  of  liquid  in  this  butter  and  that 
is  brine.     There  is  no  difference  in  concentration,  there  is  no 
cause  for  osmosis,  and  there  is  no  interchange  and  migration  of 
liquids.  And  the  permanency  of  the  emulsion  is  further  strength- 
ened by  the  more  minute  division  of  the  droplets  in  properly  and 
evenly  worked  butter. 

9.  Streaky  or  wavy  butter  is  caused  by  uneven  working  of  dif- 
ferent portions  of  butter  of  one  and  the  same  churning,  either  due 
to  a  faulty  condition  of  the  workers  or  an  overloaded  churn.  Those 
portions  of  the  churning  which  receive  the  most  working  have  the 
lightest  color,  because  the  more  the  butter  is  worked,  the  smaller 
become  the  water  droplets  and  the  smaller  the  water  droplets,  the 
more  opaque  and  the  whiter  is  the  butter. 

10.  Streaky  or  wavy  butter  may  also  result  when  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  salt  over  the  entire  length  of  the  churn  is  very  uneven. 
In  this  case  the  butter  that  received  the  most  salt  will  have  larger 
water  droplets  and  will  therefore  have  a  clearer,  more  translucent 
and  more  yellow  color  than  that  part  of  the  butter  that  received  the 
least  amount  of  salt. 

Practical  directions  for  the  prevention  of  waves  and  mottles 
in  butter:  1.  Keep  churn  and  workers  constantly  in  good  me- 
chanical repair. — Make  sure  that  the  workers  are  correctly  set, 
properly  adjusted  and  that  they  are  free  from  slack  and  do  not  slip. 

The  distance  between  workers,  in  the  case  of  churns  with  two 
or  more  workers,  and  between  worker  and  shelf  in  the  one- worker 
churn,  should  be  the  same  over  the  entire  length  of  the  churn.  Uneven 
distance  causes  uneven  working.  An  uneven  distance  between  work- 
ers is  due  to  the  fact  that  either  one  or  more  of  the  workers  are 
crooked,  the  worker  shafts  are  out  of  line,  the  shaft  has  worn  a 


524  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

large  hole  in  the  end  of  the  worker,  the  bearings  in  which  the 
worker  shafts  run  are  worn,  the  worker  shafts  themselves  are 
worn,  the  distance  between  centers  of  the  worker  shaft  bearings 
in  one  end  of  the  churn  is  not  the  same  as  that  in  the  other  end  of 
the  churn,  the  periphery  of  the  workers  has  become  badly  dam- 
aged in  places,  or  the  shelves  are  not  of  the  same  width  over  their 
whole  length,  do  not  lie  straight,  have  become  damaged,  or  are 
loose  and  wobbly. 

In  churns  with  more  than  one  worker,  the  workers  must  be  so 
set  that,  when  in  operation,  the  ridges  of  one  worker  meet  the 
grooves  of  the  opposite  worker.  If  they  are  so  set  that  ridges  meet 
ridges  and  grooves  meet  grooves,  the  working  is  very  uneven,  invit- 
ing mottles. 

The  workers  must  be  taut,  and  free  from  excessive  slack  and 
from  slipping.  Slack  and  slipping  workers  won't  stay  set  right  and 
therefore  cause  uneven  working  and  mottles.  Slack  and  slipping  is 
due  either  to  the  worker  shafts  having  worn  loose  in  the  ends  of 
the  workers,  the  worker  shafts  slipping  in  the  gear  wheels  due  to 
a  worn  key  or  worn  shaft,  or  to  excessive  wear  of  or  damage  to 
the  cogs  of  the  gear  wheels. 

The  buttermaker  who  would  make  butter  uniformly  free  from 
mottles  and  waviness  must  keep  close  watch  of  the  mechanical  con- 
dition of  his  churns  and  keep  the  churns  and  workers  in  a  constant 
state  of  good  mechanical  repair. 

2.  Do  Not  Overload  the  Workers. — An  overloaded  churn 
needs  more  revolutions  with  the  workers  in  gear  than  a  churn  not 
overloaded.    But  at  best  such  working  is  prone  to  lack  of  uniformity. 
When  the  workers  are  overloaded  all  of  the  butter  cannot  go  through 
the  workers  with  each  churn  revolution.     Some  of  the  butter  will 
fall  off  over  the  outside  of  the  workers,  and  therefore  fails   to   be 
worked,  as  fully  explained  in  Chapter  XL,  "Working." 

3.  The  Butter  must  be  worked  sufficiently  for  complete  so- 
lution of  the  salt  and  distribution  of  the  brine. — The  process  of 
working  is  the  only  means  whereby  the  extraneous  water  and  the 
brine  can  be  evenly  distributed  throughout  the  mass  of  butter.     If 
this  complete  solution  of  salt  and  distribution  of  brine  is  not  accom- 
plished during  the  process  of  working,  it  will  never  be  accomplished, 
and  such  butter,  upon  standing,  is  bound  to  become  mottled.     It  is 
only  during  the  process  of  working  that  the  brine  is  capable  of  pene- 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  525 

trating  the  fine  emulsion  of  the  native  water  in  butter,  and  that  the 
brine  itself  is  capable  of  becoming  sufficiently  fused  with  the  water 
and  emulsified  with  the  protein  and  fat  particles  of  the  butter  to 
preclude  interchange  of  the  brine  and  water  after  working. 

If  the  salt  crystals  are  not  completely  dissolved  by  the  working 
process,  the  migration  of  the  free  liquid  in  the  butter  at  rest,  is 
intensified  by  the  affinity  of  the  salt  for  water  and  the  dapples  or 
mottles  appear  more  quickly  and  more  conspicuously. 


Fig-.  82A.    Fissures  in  salted  butter,  showing  migration  of  water 
Magnified  110  times 

So  far  as  the  process  of  working  is  concerned,  therefore,  in 
order  to  prevent  mottles,-  the  butter  must  be  worked  sufficiently  to 
dissolve  the  salt  completely,  to  cause  a  very  thorough  fusion  of  the 
brine  and  the  water  and  to  produce  a  sufficient  emulsion  of  the  brine, 
fat  and  protein  of  butter  to  hold  it. 

The  degree  of  fineness  of  the  salt,  or  the  size  of  the  salt  crys- 
tals, influences  its  solubility.  Too  coarse  salt  requires  more  water 
and  more  time  for  the  complete  solution  of  each  crystal.  Too  fine 
salt  tends  to  cake  or  paste  the  crystals  together,  again  hindering 
ready  solution.  .See  also  Chapter  XL,  "Salting.'' 

Briefly,  then,  mottles  and  waves  can  be  prevented  by  the  use  of 
churns  in  which  the  workers  and  shelves  are  set  correctly  and  are  in 


526  BUTTER 

perfect  mechanical  condition,  by  avoiding  the  overloading  of  the 
workers,  by  the  proper  use  and  even  distribution  in  the  churn  of 
readily  soluble  salt,  and  by  adjusting  the  working  process  according 
to  the  mechanical  firmness  of  the  butter  in  such  a  manner,  as  to 
insure  complete  solution  of  the  salt,  even  distribution  and  complete 
fusion  of  brine  and  water  and  producing  a  butter  in  which  the  free 
brine  and  water  have  been  sufficiently  emulsified,  to  give  the  butter  a 
close,  tough,  waxy  texture,  free  from  visible  water  pockets. 

White  Specks  in  Butter. — Butter  occasionally  is  permeated 
with  a  multitude  of  small  white  specks.  This  condition  is  due  to 
the  incorporation  of  small  pieces  of  coagulated  casein.  The  defect 
is  easily  preventable  and  should  not  occur  when  proper  attention 
is  given  to  the  handling  of  the  starter  and  the  cream.  Its  most 
common  cause  is  overripe  starter,  overripe  cream  and  cream  that 
has  been  allowed  to  dry  on  the  surface  due  to  lack  of  stirring  dur- 
ing the  ripening  process.  If  the  starter  is  added  before  it  is  over- 
ripe and  has  formed  a  firm  curd,  or  if  the  coagulum  is  thoroughly 
broken  up  by  stirring  or  pouring  and  the  starter  is  strained  into  the 
cream,  if  the  cream  is  properly  stirred  during  the  ripening  process 
so  as  to  prevent  its  drying  on  the  surface,  if  it  is  not  overripened, 
and  is  strained  into  the  churn,  there  is  usually  no  danger  of  white 
specks  in  butter.  Cream  and  starter  should  never  be  allowed  to 
enter  the  churn  unless  they  are  run  through  a  fine  strainer. 

The  occasional  appearance  of  white  specks  in  butter  may  be  due 
to  the  cream  strainer  in  the  churn  becoming  clogged  and  flowing 
over,  or  to  emptying  the  accumulated  material  caught  in  the 
strainer,  into  the  churn,  either  through  accident  or  through 
ignorance. 

Yellow  Specks  in  Butter. — This  is  a  very  rare  defect  and 
yet  occasionally  it  occurs  and  causes  trouble.  When  these  specks 
are  of  an  orange  shade,  they  are  usually  due  to  sediment  in  the  but- 
ter color  used.  If  the  butter  color  contains  such  sediment  it  should 
be  allowed  to  settle  and  only  the  clear  oil  on  top  should  be  used. 
These  yellow  specks  occur  most  generally  only  when  the  supply  of 
butter  color  in  the  drum  or  other  receptacle  is  nearly  exhausted,  so 
that  the  very  bottom  strata  of  the  color  in  the  drum  are  drawn  on. 
In  this  case  it  is  advisable  to  discard  the  remnant  of  butter  color 
and  draw  from  a  new  drum. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  527 

Frequently  the  yellow  specks  are  of  a  different  nature  and  are 
due  to  other  causes.  There  occasionally  appear  yellow  spots  in  the 
butter  that  are  of  an  oily,  translucent  nature.  In  this  case  they  are 
generally  due  to  accidental  exposure  of  that  particular  portion  of 
butter  to  some  object  warm  enough  to  cause  partial  melting  and, 
when  recongealed,  the  butter  in  that  spot  looks  deep  yellow  like  clear 
butterfat. 

This  defe'ct  may  occur  when  the  operator  uses  a  packer  that 
was  soaked  in  hot  water  immediately  before  use  and  failed  to  cool 
it.  The  warm  butter  packer  melts  a  small  portion  of  the  butter 
which  it  touches,  resulting  in  yellow  specks  showing  up  in  the  but- 
ter when  examined  over  the  trier,  or  when  cut.  The  buttermaker 
frequently  argues  that  the  butter  packs  more  easily  when  a  warm 
packer  is  used.  All  tools,  packers  and  ladles  should  be  chilled  in 
cold  water  or  cold  brine,  before  they  are  used  in  the  packing  of 
butter. 

Occasionally  prints  of  butter  are  found  that  are  completely 
jacketed  in  a  layer  of  this  same  translucent,  clear,  deep  yellow,  oily- 
looking  butter.  This  is  caused  when  unsalted  butter  is  stored  in 
a  warm  room  for  a  considerable  length  of  time.  In  this  case  the 
surface  layer  becomes  very  soft,  evaporates  most  of  its  moisture 
and  expels  a  portion  of  its  protein  content.  When  rehardened,  a 
surface  layer,  varying  in  thickness  according  to  the  temperature  ex- 
posed to  and  the  duration  of  the  exposure,  of  very  sharply  defined, 
almost  pure  butterfat,  is  produced  and  this  is  of  very  translucent 
deep  yellow  color,  while  the  remainder  of  the  print  retains  its  nat- 
ural opaque  white  color.  Chemical  analysis  shows  that  the  moisture 
content  of  this  outer  layer  of  yellow  butter  may  be  no  higher  than 
one  per  cent.  This  defect  is  greatly  minimized  in  its  intensity  and 
the  evaporation  retarded  when  the  butter,  in  addition  to  the  parch- 
ment wrapper,  is  enclosed  in  a  wax  paper  and  packed  in  a  carton. 

Salted  butter  exposed  to  similar  conditions  is  not  subject  to  this 
defect.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  loss  of  moisture 
due  to  evaporation  is  more  evenly  distributed  throughout  the  body 
of  the  print.  As  the  moisture  on  and  near  the  surface  evaporates, 
salt  crystals  form  which  draw  more  moisture  from  the  interior  of 
the  butter. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  storing  of  butter  in  a  warm  room  is  ob- 
jectionable at  best,  and  store-keepers  should  be  urged  not  to  keep 


528  BUTTER  DEFECTS 

more  butter  on  the  open  shelves  of  their  stores  than  they  may  rea- 
sonably expect  to  dispose  of  each  day,  or  preferably  to  reserve  a 
compartment  in  their  refrigerator  for  all  the  butter  they  carry  in 
stock. 


Tig.  83.  Unsaltecl  butter  held  at  room  temperature  for 
3O  days,  showing-  d.eep  yellow  border  at  periphery 
due  to  evaporation  of  moisture,  while  interior  retained 
its  original  color;  moisture  in  surface  layer  was  1 
per  cent,  in  interior  16  per  cent. 

Green  Spots  in  Butter. — Green  spots  occasionally  appear  on 
the  surface  or  in  the  interior  of  butter,  other  than  those  described 
under  "moldy  butter."  This  green  coloration,  especially  when  found 
on  the  surface,  usually  shows  up  in  the  form  of  small  circles  or 
rings,  which  grow  larger  with  age. 

Microchemical  examination  of  these  green  spots  by  Hunziker 
and  Hosman1  showed  these  spots  to  contain  traces  of  copper.  When 
they  appear  on  the  surface  of  print  butter  they  can  generally  be 
traced  to  the  presence  in  the  parchment  wrapper  of  very  minute 
specks  with  metallic  lustre.  These  specks  in  the  wrapper  have  been 
found,  by  the  authors,  to  consist  of  copper  or  an  alloy  containing 
copper,  such  as  German  silver,  or  brass. 

Further  investigation  has  revealed  that  the  parchment  paper 
manufacturers  are  experiencing  considerable  difficulties  to  keep 

1  Hunziker  ahd  Hosman,  Blue  Valley  Research  Laboratory,  1917-1919.  Re- 
sults not  published. 


BUTTER  DEFECTS  529 

filings  of  these  metals  out  of  their  paper  pulp  and  that,  in  order  to 
guard  against  their  appearance  in  the  paper,  the  manufacturers  are 
employing  diverse  devices,  such  as  magnets,  etc.,  in  the  process  of 
manufacture. 

The  original  source  of  these  minute  specks  of  metallic  lustre 
in  the  parchment  paper  lies  in  the  rags  which  constitute  a  portion 
of  the  raw  material  from  which  parchment  paper  is  manufactured. 
In  spite  of  the  manufacturers'  efforts  to  eliminate  them,  metal  but- 
tons and  buckles  of  discarded  overalls  and  of  similar  rags  occa- 
sionally escape  detection,  pass  into  the  process  with  the  rags  and 
are  thus  ground  into  fine  particles  or  filings  which  later  appear  in 
the  finished  parchment  paper. 

Whenever  particles  of  these  metal  filings  become  incorporated 
in  the  parchment  wrapper  and  the  butter  is  wrapped  in  such  wrap- 
pers, the  salt  and  acid  in  the  butter  attack  the  copper  contained  in 
these  minute  specks,  forming  verdigris.  This  in  turn  starts  the 
formation  of  a  small  green  circle  on  the  butter  and  on  the  wrapper, 
where  the  metal  speck  is  located. 

The  green  circle  grows  as  the  butter  ages  and  the  action  con- 
tinues. Around  the  green  coloration  there  is  often  also  white, 
bleached  butter  with  an  intense  tallowy  odor.  This  oxidation,  un- 
der favorable  conditions,  may  ultimately  involve  the  entire  print, 
causing  the  whole  package  to  be  greenish  white  and  tallowy. 

In  other  cases  the  green  coloration  may  occur  in  the  interior 
of  the  butter.  In  this  case  it  is  also  due  to  particles  of  copper  or 
an  alloy  containing  copper,  but  the  source  of  the  copper  lies  in  the 
manufacturing  process.  It  is  especially  prone  to  occur  when  the 
strainer  over  the  forewarmer  or  over  the  pasteurizing  vat  sags  and 
scrapes  the  revolving  coil,  or  when  accidentally  a  can  cover  or  other 
obstruction  drops  into  the  bottom  of  the  forewarmer  and  becomes 
wedged  in  between  the  forewarmer  and  the  revolving  coil. 

In  such  instances  and  other  similar  cases,  particles  of  the  copper 
of  the  coil  and  possibly  of  the  strainer  are  filed  off  into  the  cream 
and  are  later  worked  into  the  butter.  The  metal  particles  may  be 
very  small  and  hardly  perceptible  to  the  naked  eye,  but  their  corro- 
sion by  the  salt  and  acid  of  the  butter  is  inevitable,  causing  the 
appearance  of  green  verdigris  in  the  interior  of  the  butter. 

It  is  obvious  that  this  defect  is  highly  objectionable,  verdigris 
is  poisonous  and  the  green  coloration  is  offensive.  It  can  be  easily 


530  COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  otf  BUTTER 

avoided  by  using  wrappers  that  are  free  from  metallic  specks  and 
by  avoiding-  any  carelessness  in  the  creamery,  that  causes  the  in- 
corporation in  butter  of  metallic  elements.  The  copper  coils  should 
never  be  permitted  to  scrape  against  any  metal,  and  if  any  material 
or  instrument  is  used  to  clean  the  coil  or  vat  lining,  that  causes  vio- 
lent friction  on  the  copper  surfaces,  the  greatest  care  should  be  exer- 
cised to  flush  such  surfaces  thoroughly  so  as  to  remove  every  ves- 
tige of  metallic  material  before  cream  is  again  permitted  to  enter 
the  vat. 

Chapter  XVIII. 

COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER,  MILK, 
CREAM,  SKIM  MILK  AND  BUTTERMILK. 

Butter. 

Butter  is  a  mixture  of  butterfat,  small  amounts  of  the  non- 
fatty  constituents  of  milk,  cream  and  water,  and  it  may  contain 
added  salt  and  coloring  matter.  It  is  an  emulsion  of  diluted 
buttermilk-in-fat. 

It  is  composed  chiefly  of  butterfat,  water,  curd  and  salt  in 
the  case  of  salted  butter,  and  butterfat.  water  and  curd  in  the 
case  of  unsalted  butter.  The  remaining  non-fatty  constituents, 
are  the  ash,  lactose  and  acid. 

The  percentage  composition  varies  considerably  with  the 
character  of  the  cream  and  the  method  of  manufacture.  The 
average  composition  of  butter,  made  in  different  localities,  dur- 
ing the  several  seasons  of  the  year  and  under  diverse  methods 
of  manufacture  would  approximate  the  following  figures : 

Salted  Butter         Unsalted  Butter 

Butterfat .82.5%  84.0 

Water    13.8  14.5 

Salt    2.5  0.0 

Curd    6  .85 

Ash    1  .20 

Lactose    25  .3 

Acid                                                       .15  .15 


Total    .x 100.00  100.00 

Thompson,   Shaw   and  Norton1,  in  a  study  of  the  normal 
composition   of  creamery  butter,  analyzed  695  samples  of  dif- 

1  Thompson,    Shaw    and    Norton,    The    Normal    Composition    of    American 
Creamery  Butter,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  B.  A.  I.  Bulletin  149,  1912. 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER  531 

ferent  churnings  of  butter  from  California,  Iowa,  Michigan, 
Minnesota,  North  Dakota,  Pennsylvania,  Texas  and  Wisconsin, 
and  found  the  maximum,  minimum  and  average  percentages  of 
butterfat,  water,  salt  and  curd  to  range  as  follows : 

Table  71. — Maximum,  Minimum  and  Average  Percentages  of 
Butterfat,  Water,  Salt  and  Curd1  in  American  Creamery  Butter. 

Butter. 

695  Samples  of  Butter  Fat         Water          Salt          Curd 

Average    82.41         13.90          2.5°1  U8 

Maximum    87.39        20.65          5.98          3.42 

Minimum   73.49        10.13  .68  .12 

A  study  of  these  figures  shows  a  most  unusual  range  be- 
tween maximum  and  minimum  percentages  of  the  several  butter 
constituents,  while  the  average  percentage  appears  quite  normal. 
The  wide  range  of  percentage  composition  may  be  due  in  part, 
at  least,  to  the  fact  that  over  two-thirds  of  the  samples  an- 
alyzed represent  butter  from  the  very  heart  of  the  co-operative 
and  small  local  creamery,  the  states  of  Minnesota,  Wisconsin 
and  Iowa.  The  average  buttermaker  in  these  creameries  is 
more  of  an  all  around  creameryman  than  an  expert  buttermaker. 
His  knowledge  of  the  art  and  science  of  moisture  control  is 
limited  and  the  percentage  composition  of  his  butter  is  prone  to 
lack  in  uniformity. 

Analyses  of  butter  from  the  larger  creameries,  whose  butter- 
makers  are  strictly  churnmen,  and  whose  skill  in  moisture  con- 
trol is  more  highly  developed,  would  undoubtedly  show  a  much 
more  uniform  percentage  composition,  with  a  slightly  higher 
average  water  and  salt  content  and  a  slightly  lower  fat  and  curd 
content. 

The  Butterfat. — The  butterfat  is  the  chief  constituent  of 
butter.  It  normally  varies  between  about  80  and  85  per  cent, 
averaging  about  82^  per  cent.  Abnormal  cases  occasionally 
show  variations  within  much  wider  limits.  In  rare  cases  butter 
has  been  found  to  contain  as  high  as  90  per  cent  fat  and  as  low 
as  72  per  cent  fat. 


1  The   term    "curd"   as    used   here   includes,   in   addition    to    the   nitrogenous 
constituents,  the  ash  and  lactose. 


532 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 


Normal  variations  in  the  percentage  of  butterfat  in  butter 
are  due  to  its  natural  mechanical  firmness  which  determines  its 
power  to  absorb  and  hold  water  and  by  the  process  of  manu- 
facture. The  mechanical  firmness  of  the  butterfat  is  dependent 
on  such  factors  as  season  of  year,  which  largely  controls  the 
period  of  lactation  and  the  character  of  the  feed,  and  on  locality 
which  determines  the  breed  of  cows  and,  in  part,  the  character 
of  their  feed. 

Butterfat  is  the  fat  of  milk,  milk  fat  is  a  natural  compound 
of  several  different  fats  which  vary  in  their  properties.  The 
chief  of  these  fats  are  the  olein,  palmitin,  myristin,  stearin, 
laurin,  butyrin,  caproin,  caprylin  and  caprin. 

These  fats  are  present  in  the  form  of  a  chemical  combination 
of  glycerol  (glycerin),  as  the  base,  and  of  one  or  more  fatty 
acids,  such  as  oleic,  palmitic,  myristic,  stearic,-lauric,  butyric, 
capronic,  caprylic  and  capric  acids. 

These  fats  are  spoken  of  as  the  glycerides.  The  proportion 
in  which  these  glycerides,  or  fats,  are  present  in  the  mixed  milk 
fat  varies  according  to  breed,  period  of  lactation  and  feed  of 
the  cows,  hence  analyses  of  milk  fat  derived  from  different 
sources  are  somewhat  at  variance.  Richmond1  shows  the  follow- 
ing composition  of  milk  fat: 

Table  72.     Composition  of  Milk  Fat. 


Fats 
(Glycerides) 

Fats 

(Glycerides) 

Per  Cent 

Fatty  Acids 
of  These 
Glycerides 
Per  Cent 

Glvcerol 
of  These 
Glycerides 
Per  Cent 

Butyrin  .  . 

385 

343 

1.17 

Caproin    , 

360 

325 

.86 

Caprylin    

.55 

.51 

.10 

Caprin  

1.90 

1.77 

.31 

Laurin  

7.40 

6.94 

1.07 

Stearin  

1.80 

1.72 

.19 

Myristin  

20.2 

19.14 

2.53 

Palmitin  

25.7 

24.48 

2.91 

Olein  

35.0 

33.60 

3.93 

Total  

100.0 

1  Richmond,   Dairy   Chemistry. 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER  533 

Soluble  or  Volatile  Fats  and  Insoluble  or  Non- Volatile  Fats. 

—The  milk  fats  are  spoken  of  as  soluble  or  volatile  and  insoluble 
or  non-volatile  fats.  In  reality  none  of  the  fats  are  soluble  or 
volatile,  but  the  fatty  acids  of  some  of  the  fats  or  glycerides, 
when,  as  the  result  of  the  decomposition  of  the  respective  glyc- 
erides, they  become  separated  from  their  base,  the  glycerol,  be- 
come soluble  and  volatile. 

Some  of  the  fatty  acids  are  wholly  soluble  and  volatile,  to 
these  belong  the  butyric  acid  and  the  caproic  acid ;  others  are 
only  partly  soluble  and  volatile,  to  them  belong  the  caprylic, 
capric  and  lauric  acids;  still  others  are  entirely  insoluble  and 
non-volatile,  to  these  belong  the  oleic,  palmitic,  myristic  and 
stearic  acids. 

Of  the  total  milk  fat  about  8  to  12  per  cent  yield  volatile 
and  soluble  fatty  acids,  while  the  remainder  of  88  to  92  per  cent 
are  insoluble  and  non-volatiles 

It  is  generally  accepted,  though  by  no  means  fully  experi- 
mentally proven,  that  the  volatile  fatty  acids,  of  which  the 
butyrin  is  the  most  important,  give  the  dairy  products  their 
characteristic  odor  and  flavor  and  that  they  derive  from  the 
feed  of  the  cows  the  characteristic  feed  flavors.  Storch  holds 
that  it  is  the  slimy,  nitrogenous  film  which  he  claims  surrounds 
each  fat  globule,  that  contains  and  is  responsible  for  the  char- 
acteristic flavor  and  aroma  of  butter. 

Melting  Point  of  Milk  Fats. — The  melting  point  of  the  mixed 
milk  fat  ranges  between  about  90  and  99  degrees  F.  and  the  solidi- 
fying point  ranges  betwen  65  and  75  degrees  F.  Fleischmann1 
gives  the  melting  point  at  31  to  36  degrees  C.  (87.8-96.8  degrees 
F.)  and  the  solidifying  point  at  19-24  degrees  C.  (65-75  de- 
grees F.).  The  several  fats  or  glycerides  of  which  the  milk  fat 
is  composed,  differ  from  one  another  largely  in  their  melting 
points  and  in  their  solidifying  points,  and  since  the  melting  point 
and  the  solidifying  point  of  the  fat  control  the  mechanical  firm- 
ness or  softness  of  butter,  this  fact  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
in  the  art  of  buttermaking.  The  melting  points  of  the  several 
more  important  fats  contained  in  milk  are  as  follows : 


iFleischmnnn — Das  Buch  der  Milchwirtschaft,  1901. 


534  COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 

Table  73. 

Tri-butyrin —60  to  —70°  C.  or  —76  to  —94°  F. 

Olein    5°    C.  or    41°  F. 

Myristin    54°    C.  or  129°  F. 

Palmitin    61°    C.  or  142°  F. 

Stearin   65.5°  C.  or  150°  F. 

Both  the  butyrin  and  the  olein  have  melting  points  much 
lower  than  the  other  insoluble  fats.  A  material  increase  in  the 
proportion  of  butyrin  or  olein,  or  both,  therefore  suggests  a 
lowering  of  the  melting  point  of  the  mixed  fat  and  vice  versa. 
This  fact  has  been  amply  demonstrated  by  Eckles1  and  by  Hun- 
ziker2.  Exceptions  to  these  facts  are  not  infrequent,  however, 
and  they  must  be  largely  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  volatile 
acids  in  such  cases  were  made  up  of  unusually  high  proportions 
of  the  less  common  constituents,  such  as  caprylic,  capric  and 
lauric  acids,  whose  melting  points  are  16.5,  31.3  and  43.6  de- 
grees C.,  respectively,  as  suggested  by  Eckles,  or  that  the  rela- 
tive proportion  of  the  glycerides  of  the  individual  soluble  and 
insoluble  acids  exclusive  of  oleic,  must  have  exerted  a  dominant 
influence,  as  suggested  by  Hunziker.  Again,  Lewkowitsch3 
points  out  that  the  melting  point  of  a  mixture  of  fats  cannot  be 
predicted  from  the  melting  points  of  the  fats  themselves ;  and 
Twitchell4  shows  the  interesting  fact  that  a  mixture  of  palmitic 
and  stearic  acids  lowers  the  solidifying  points  of  each  other  to 
a  greater  extent  than  a  mixture  of  either  of  these  two  acids  with 
oleic  acid. 

Barring  these  exceptions,  and  for  all  practical  purposes,  the 
fact  remains  that  a  high  percentage  of  butyrin,  or  of  olein,  or 
of  both,  causes  the  mixed  butterfat  to  have  a  relatively  low 
melting  point,  while  a  low  percentage  of  butyrin,  or  of  olein, 
or  of  both,  causes  the  mixed  butterfat  to  have  a  relatively  high 
melting  point.  Therefore,  in  early  summer,  when,  because  of 
the  freshening  of  the  majority  of  the  cows,  the  per  cent  of  bu- 
tyrin is  relatively  high,  and  because  of  the  cows  gorging  them- 

1  Eckles  and  Palmer — Influence  of  Plane  of  Nutrition  of  the  Cow  Upon  the 
Composition  and  Properties  of  Milk  and  Butterfat.     Missouri  Research  Bulle- 
tin 24.  1916. 

2  Hunziker,   Mills  and    Spitzer — Moisture   Control   of   Butter,    Factors   not 
under  Control  of  the  Buttermaker.     Purdue  Bulletin  159,  1912. 

3  Lewkowitsch — Chemical    Technology    and    Analysis     of     Oils,     Fat     and 
Waxes,  Vol.   I,   1909. 

*  Twitchell— Journal  Ind.  Eng.  Chem.,  Vol.  VI,  p.  564,  1914;  also  Analyst, 
Vol.  XXXIX,  p.  448,  1914. 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER  535 

selves  with  succulent  pasture  grass,  the  per  cent  olein  is  also 
high,  often  amounting  to  about  50  per  cent  of  the  total  fat,  the 
melting  point  of  the  mixed  fat  is  relatively  low  and  the  butter 
made  from  this  butterfat  is  relatively  soft. 

Physical  Structure  of  Butterfat. — In  freshly  drawn  milk  and 
cream  the  butterfat  consists  of  miscroscopic,  liquid  fat  globules. 
These  fat  globules  are  present  in  the  form  of  a  fairly  permanent 
emulsion  in  the  skim  milk  which  consists  of  water  in  which 
are  dissolved  the  milk  sugar,  albumen  and  part  of  the  milk  ash, 
and  which  contains  in  suspension  the  casein.  The  casein  is  of 
colloid  nature  and  the  skim  milk  may  logically  be  considered 
an  emulsion  of  hydrated  colloid.  Milk  and  cream,  then,  are  a 
fat-in-hydrated  colloid  emulsion,  or  a  fat-in-skimmilk  emulsion. 

The  fact  that  the  butterfat  globules  remain  as  independent 
units,  and  that  they  form  this  emulsion,  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
nature  produces  them  in  this  fine  state  of  division  in  the  first  place. 
Fisher  and  Hooker  very  interestingly  show  that  the  secretion 
of  butterfat  is  the  result  of  fatty  degeneration  of  the  cells  in  the 
alveoli  of  the  mammary  gland  or  udder.  In  this  fatty  degenera- 
tion the  cells  break  down,  liberating  the  minute  fat  globules  in 
a  fat-in-hydrated  colloid  emulsion,  in  which  they  retain  their 
individuality  because  of  the  forces  of  surface  tension,  adsorption 
and  viscosity,  as  explained  under  "Philosophy  of  Churning," 
Chapter  X. 

Size  of  Fat  Globules. — As  previously  stated  the  butterfat, 
or  milk  fat,  is  present  in  milk  and  cream  in  the  form  of  very 
minute  fat  globules.  These  fat  globules  vary  in  size  from 
about  one  micromillimeter  to  about  17.4  micromillimeters ;  they 
average  about  from  three  to  five  micromillimeters  in  diameter. 
One  micromillimeter,  or  one  micron  represents  about  one  twenty- 
five  tousandth  of  one  inch. 

The  size  of  the  fat  globules  is  controlled  by  breed  and 
period  of  lactation  of  the  cows,  and  it  is  influenced  by  temporary 
indisposition  of  the  cows  and  abrupt  changes  in  feed. 

The  Channel  Island  breeds,  the  Jerseys  and  Guernseys, 
produce  milk  in  which  the  fat  globules  average  nearly  three 
times  as  large  in  diameter  as  those  in  the  milk  from  the  Hoi- 
steins  and  Ayrshires. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  period  of  lactation  the  fat  globules 
are  largest.  As  the  period  of  lactation  advances  the  average 


536  COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 

size  of  the  fat  globules  gradually  decreases  and  is  smallest 
shortly  before  the  cows  go  dry.  See  also  Chapter  X  on  Churning. 
The  relative  size  of  the  fat  globules  exerts  a  marked  in- 
fluence on  the  mechanical  firmness  of  the  butterfat  and  butter, 
and,  therefore,  on  the  moisture  content  of  the  resulting  butter. 
Butter  made  from  relatively  large  fat  globules  is  much  softer, 
churns  much  easier  and  more  rapidly  and  contains  more  moist- 
ure than  butter  made  from  relatively  small  globules.  This  is 

RELATIVE  SIZE  OF  THE  SMALLEST  AND  LARGEST  GLOBULES  OBSERVED 


Pig'.  84 

Volume — .5236  cubic  microns  Volume — 2758.32  cubic  microns 

Diameter — 1  micron  Diameter — 17.4  microns 

clearly  shown  by  the  results  of  Hunziker1,  who,  by  centrifugal 
separation,  produced  different  lots  of  cream  from  the  same  milk, 
containing  average  large  globules  (54.24  cubic  microns)  and 
average  small  globules  (20.72  cubic  microns).  Sixteen  churnings 
were  made  from  each  type  of  cream.  The  churning  conditions, 
as  to  temperature  of  cream,  time  held,  amount  of  cream,  richness 
of  cream,  acidity  of  cream,  etc.,  were  the  same  for  all  churnings. 
The  results  are  shown  in  the  following  table :  The  small-globule 
cream  churned  with  difficulty,  the  butter  required  over  twice 
as  much  time  to  "break"  as  the  large-globule  cream,  and  it 
formed  round,  hard,  smooth  granules,  which  did  not  pack  read- 
ily, and  made  a  very  firm  and  crumbly  butter.  The  large-globule 

1  Hunziker,  Mills  and  Spitzer,  Purdue  Bulletin  159,  1912. 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 


537 


Table  74. — Effect  of  Size  of  Average  Fat  Globules  on  Per  Cent 
Moisture  in  Butter 


Experiment 
Number 

Large  —  Globule  Cream. 
Average  Volume  of  Globules 
54.249  Cubic  Microns 

Small  —  Globule  Cream. 
Average  Volume  of  Globules 
20.724  Cubic  Microns 

Churning 
Number 

Moisture  in 
Butter  Percent 

Churning 
Number 

Moisture  in 
Butter  Percent 

1 

1 

3 

19.38 
20.19 

2 

4 

17.70 
17.75 

2 

5 
7 

26.62 
26.28 

6 
8 

21.24 
19.20 

3 

9 
11 

21.70 
21.40 

10 
12 

16.21 
17.72 

4 

13 

15 

19.05 
18.54 

14 
16 

16.03 
15.47 

5 

17 
19 

19.76 
17.61 

18 
20 

15.69 
16.28 

6 

21 
23 

20.41 
20.61 

22 

24 

1-7.01 
16.28 

7 

25 
27 

23.06 
20.00 

26 
28 

17.20 
17.50 

8 

29 
31 

18.50 
19.95 

30 
32 

18.14 
17.17 

Average 

20.82 

17.29 

cream  churned  rapidly,  formed  soft,  irregular,  ragged-edged 
flakes,  which  packed  readily  and  made  a  rather  soft-bodied  but- 
ter. The  milk  from  which  the  two  kinds  of  cream  were  produced 
came  from  cows  of  the  same  breed,  of  as  nearly  the  same  age 
and  the  same  stage  of  the  period  of  lactation  as  possible. 

These  results  suggested  that  the  difference  in  the  firmness 
of  the  butter  may  have  been  due  to  a  difference  in  chemical 
composition  of  the  fat,  between  the  large  and  the  small  fat 
globules.  Lemus1  and  Kluseman2  claim  that  such  a  difference 
does  exist.  Lemus  found  more  volatile  acid  and  less  olein  in  the 
small  fat  globules  than  in  the  large  ones.  Kluseman  states  that 

1  Lemus,  Diss.  Leipzig,  1902. 
•Kluseman,  Diss.   Leipzig,  1893. 


538 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 


the  large  fat  globules  contain  more  of  both  the  volatile  acids  and 
the  olein  than  the  small  fat  globules.  On  the  other  hand,  Siedel 
and  Shaw  and  Eckles  found  no  difference  in  the  chemical  com- 
position of  the  large  and  small  fat  globules  of  the  same  milk. 
Hunziker's  results  agree  with  the  findings  of  the  last  four  in- 
vestigators as  shown  in  the  Table  75. 

These  findings  suggest  that  the  softer  butter  with  the  higher 
moisture  content,  resulting  from  the  large-globule  cream  is  not 
due  to  a  lower  melting  point  of  the  fat  in  these  globules,  but  is 
largely  due  to  physical  or  mechanical  influences.  The  forces 
overcoming  the  surface  tension  are  greater  in  the  larger 
globules,  causing  them  to  lose  their  equilibrium  and  to  collapse 
more  readily,  and  yielding  a  butter  with  a  softer  body  which  is 
more  miscible  with  water  and  which  retains  water  more  read- 
ily than  the  firmer  butter,  which  results  from  the  smaller  fat 
globules. 

Table  75. — Chemical  Composition  of    Butter  Fat  from    Cream 

with  Large  Average  Globules  and  from  Cream  with 

Small  Average  Globules. 


Large  and 
Small-Globule 
Butter 

Reichert- 
Meissl 
Number 

Iodine 
Number 

Saponi- 
fication 
Number 

Melting 
Point 

Soluble 
Acids 

% 

Insoluble 
Acids 

% 

Refrac- 
tive 
Index 

Large 

3034 

28.92 

232  2 

339 

607 

88.90 

42.2 

Large  
Small 

30.35 
3020 

28.90 
2950 

231.6 
231  3 

34.1 

33  7 

6.00 
609 

88.50 
89.15 

42.0 
42.0 

Small  

30.30 

29.30 

231.6 

34.0 

5.98 

89.00 

41.7 

Average  large 
globules  

30.34 

28.91 

231.9 

34.0 

6.04 

88.70 

42.1 

Average  small 
globules  

30.25 

29.40 

231.4 

33.9 

6.04 

89.08 

41.9 

The  Water,  Moisture  Control. — The  water  in  butter  rep- 
resents quantitatively  the  largest  non-fatty  constituent  of  butter. 
Under  normal  conditions  of  manufacture  the  water  content  in 
finished  butter  ranges  about  from  12  to  16  per  cent.  In  very 
abnormal  cases  butter  has  been  found  to  contain  less  than  ten 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER  539 

per  cent  and  over  20  per  cent  water,  but  butter  can  be  made  to 
contain  considerably  less  than  10  per  cent  and  very  much  more 
than  20  per  cent  water.  The  water  content  of  butter  averages 
about  14  per  cent. 

The  water  content  of  butter  after  washing  and  draining, 
but  before  working  and  salting,  and  while  the  butter  is  still  in 
granular  form,  under  normal  conditions  of  churning,  firmness 
of  butter  and  size  of  granules,  generally  averages  above  16  per 
cent,  but  it  varies  considerably  with  the  firmness  of  the  butter 
and  size  of  the  butter  granules. 

Other  factors  being  the  same,  soft  butter  granules  have  a 
higher  water  content  than  firm  and  hard  granules.  In  the  case 
of  normal  firmness  and  very  fine  granules,  similar  in  size 
to  small  rice  kernels,  the  water  content  of  butter  before  work- 
ing and  salting  averages  around  20  to  24  per  cent.  In  the  form 
of  small  corn  kernels  butter  averages  around  17  to  18  per  cent 
water  and  in  still  larger  form,  such  as  in  lumps,  the  water 
content  may  drop  below  16  per  cent,  always  provided,  how- 
ever, that  the  butter  is  of  normal  firmness  at  the  time  it  "breaks." 

If  the  large  granules  or  lumps  are  excessively  soft,  such  as 
is  the  case  when  the  churning  temperature  was  too  high  in 
proportion  to  the  melting  point  of  the  fat,  then  such  lumps 
usually  show  a  high  water  content.  In  such  cases  both  the  soft- 
ness of  the  butter  and  the  over-churning  are  the  direct  result  of 
the  high  churning  temperature  which  causes  the  butter  to 
"break"  and  gather  so  rapidly  that  excessive  massing  takes  place 
before  the  churn  is  stopped. 

In  unsalted  butter  and  in  properly  worked,  salted  butter, 
the  water  is  present  largely  in  the  form  of  microscopic  droplets, 
varying  widely  in  size  and  ranging  in  diameter  from  less  than 
one  micron  (one  twenty-five  thousandth  of  one  inch)  to  over  15 
microns  (three  five  thousandths  of  one  inch).  In  butter  prior 
to  working  and  in  much  of  the  salted  butter  there  are  present 
also  considerable  quantities  of  water  in  the  form  of  large  drops 
and  water  aggregates  larger  than  drops. 

As  previously  stated  with  relation  to  the  physical  structure 
of  butterfat  and  the  philosophy  of  churning,  butter  represents 
an  emulsion  of  hydrated  colloid-in-fat,  that  is,  it  is  an  emulsion 
of  buttermilk-in-fat.  When  the  butter  is  worked,  a  portion  of 


540  COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 

the  buttermilk,  that  which  adheres  to  the  surfaces  of  the  butter 
granules,  is  removed  and  replaced  by  the  water  and  when  the 
butter  is  salted  and  worked  a  portion  of  the  "remaining  butter- 
milk and  water  is  replaced  by  or  fuses  with,  the  brine,  or  both. 

When  the  butter  is  worked,  most  of  the  free  water  is  ex- 
pelled, while  the  firmly  held  and  finely  emulsified  microscopic 
droplets  in  the  interior  of  the  butter  granules  remain  in  the 
butter.  For  this  reason,  during  the  first  stages  of  the  working 
process  the  water  content  of  butter  decreases,  and  under  normal 
conditions  drops  to  about  13  per  cent  or  slightly  lower. 

As  the  working  process  progresses,  the  butter  loses  its 
granular  state  and  becomes  less  friable  and  more  plastic.  When 
this  state  is  reached  further  working  causes  the  butter  to  "pick 
up"  water  from  the  churn  and  the  water  content  increases  again. 
The  amount  of  water  which  the  butter  now  assimilates  and 
the  extent  to  which  the  water  content  increases,  depends  on  the 
mechanical  condition  of  the  butter,  as  determined  by  the  melting 
point  of  the  butterfat,  the  temperature  of  the  cream  and  the 
washwater,  and  on  the  amount  of  water  there  is  in  the  churn. 
The  amount  of  water  present  in  the  churn  obviously  is  largely 
governed  by  the  extent  of  draining,  with  the  churn  doors  ajar 
before  and  during  the  working  process.  If  the  churn  is  stopped 
with  the  doors  ajar  and  down  after  every  few  revolutions  of  the 
churn,  and  the  butter  is  allowed  to  drain  completely  each  time, 
so  that  all  the  free  water  escapes,  further  working  decreases  the 
water  content  of  the  butter. 

But  even  when  working  with  the  churn  doors  closed,  so 
that  free  water  remains  in  the  churn,  a  point  is  gradually  reached 
when  further  working  no  longer  materially  increases  the  water 
content  of  the  butter.  A  point  of  saturation  has  then  been 
reached  that  does  not  permit  of  additional  incorporation  of 
water.  The  time  when  this  point  is  reached  depends  largely  on 
the  mechanical  firmness  of  the  butter  and  the  temperature  of 
the  water  in  the  churn.  The  softer  the  butter  and  the  warmer 
the  water,  the  greater  the  amount  of  water  that  can  be  in- 
corporated before  the  point  of  saturation  is  reached. 

Conditions  that  tend  to  disturb  the  emulsion  of  buttermilk-, 
water-,  or  brine-in-fat,  reduce  the  amount  of  water  that  is  capable 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER  541 

of  remaining  in  butter  in  the  form  of  very  finely  divided  drop- 
lets, unaided  by  working. 

In  sweet-cream,  unsalted  butter,  the  fine  state  of  division 
of  the  water  droplets  present  in  butter  before  working  remains 
practically  intact  and  is  not  materially  affected  by  working. 
In  sour-cream  butter  the  lactic  acid  present  has  a  tendency  to 
slightly  lower  the  permanency  of  the  emulsion  by  its  action  on 
the  nitrogenous  constituents  of  the  buttermilk  and  such  butter 
may  be  expected  to  show  a  slightly  smaller  number  of  very 
small  droplets  and  a  slightly  larger  number  of  larger  droplets. 
The  difference,  however,  is  very  slight. 

In  salted  butter  the  effect  of  the  salting-out  influence  of  the 
emulsion  is  very  marked  and  during  the  early  stages  of  the 
working  process  salted  butter  shows  a  marked  decrease  in  the 
number  of  small  droplets  and  a  decided  increase  in  the  number 
of  the  larger  droplets.  In  this  condition  the  water  in  butter  is 
not  permanently  fixed,  the  emulsion  is  incomplete  and  the  but- 
ter is  leaky.  This  butter,  therefore,  has  to  be  worked  until  the 
body  is  sufficiently  plastic  to  permit,  by  means  of  the  working 
process,  the  redivision  and  re-emulsification  of  the  water  droplets 
until  the  size  of  these  droplets  is  again  reduced  nearly  to  the  point 
that  prevailed  before  the  salting  and  working  commenced,  other- 
wise this  butter  remains  permanently  leaky. 

It  may  be  logically  considered,  therefore,  that  the  water  in 
butter  is  present  in  two  forms;  namely,  in  the  form  of  very 
finely  divided  droplets,  as  originally  emulsified  and  locked  up 
in  the  granules  during  the  churning  process,  and  in  the  form 
of  larger  droplets,  drops  and  aggregates  of  drops  of  free  moisture, 
which  is  loosely  held  in  the  interstices  between  the  butter  gran- 
ules and  a  part  of  which  adheres  to  their  surface. 

The  control  of  moisture  in  butter,  then,  resolves  itself  into 
the  retaining  in  the  butter  of  the  first  form  of  water,  the  finely 
divided  and  thoroughly  emulsified  droplets  originally  present, 
and  the  dividing  and  emulsifying  into  the  butter  of  a  portion  of 
the  free  water;  and  the  ease  with  which  the  moisture  content  is 
controlled  depends  on  the  control  by  the  buttermaker  over  the 
mechanical  firmness  of  the  butter  and  the  temperature  of  the 
cream  and  wash  water. 


542  COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 

.• 

The  natural  firmness  of  the  butter  varies  with  locality  and 
season  of  year,  but  the  actual  firmness  can- be  controlled  readily 
by  the  proper  adjustment  of  the  churning  temperature,  and  the 
proper  adjustment  and  control  of  the  churning  temperature  is 
the  foundation  of  satisfactory  moisture  control.  When,  in  the 
spring,  the  butterfat  becomes  softer,  the  churning  temperature 
must  be  lowered  sufficiently  to  maintain  the  desired  firmness  of 
the  butter.  In  the  fall,  when  the  natural  change  in  the  character 
of  the  butterfat  tends  towards  a  firmer  butter,  the  churning  tem- 
perature must  be  raised  sufficiently  to  offset  this  change.  The 
extent  to  which  the  butter  is  drained  before,  or  during  the  work- 
ing process,  or  both,  will  further  influence  the  control  of  its 
moisture  content. 

In  the  case  of  unsalted  butter,  moisture  control  is  largely  a 
matter  of  giving  the  free  water  an  opportunity  to  escape,  since, 
under  average  conditions,  the  amount  of  water  present  in  its 
original,  finely  divided  and  thoroughly  emulsified  form,  repre- 
sents a  very  large  portion  of  the  total  per  cent  of  water  that 
legal  butter  is  permitted  to  contain.  In  unsalted  butter  the 
tendency  naturally  is  toward  a  high  moisture  content. 

In  the  case  of  salted  butter  the  salt,  owing  to  its  great 
affinity  for  water,  causes  a  large  number  of  the  very  small 
droplets  to  run  together  into  drops  and  to  escape  as  free  water. 
Moisture  control,  here,  therefore,  has  to  do  with  the  re-division, 
re-emulsification  and  reincorporation  of  a  sufficient  amount  of 
the  free  water,  in  order  to  bring  the  per  cent  moisture  back  to 
that  desired,  and  this  is  accomplished  by  proper  working. 

Moisture  Control. — Factory  Directions. — Owing  to  the  many 
and  ever-changing  factors  which  influence  the  property  of  the 
butter  to  retain  or  take  up  and  hold  water,  such  as  type  of  churn, 
character  of  butterfat,  churning  temperature,  etc.,  it  is,  as  yet, 
not  possible  to  reduce  the  art  of  moisture  control  to  a  mathemat- 
ical, exact  science,  whereby  a  given  formula  may  be  depended 
upon  to  produce  the  desired  results.  Moisture  control  is  an  art, 
the  success  of  which  demands  local  experience  and  judgment  on 
the  part  of  the  buttermaker,  quite  as  much  as  scientific  knowl- 
edge. For  this  reason,  the  specific  method  that  should  be  used 
for  best  results,  must  be  left  to  the  judgement  of  the  buttermaker, 
who,  operating  his  churns  daily,  is  familiar  with  his  local  condi- 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER  543 

tions  and  is  in  the  best  position  to  know  how  to  go  about  under 
his  particular  conditions. 

Attempts  to  reduce  moisture  control  to  a  fixed  method,  by 
reducing  the  moisture  content  of  butter  by  means  of  preliminary 
draining  and  working  to  a  figure  below  the  percentage  desired, 
then  testing  for  per  cent  moisture  and  adding  the  mathematically 
calculated  correct  amount  of  water  to  increase  the  moisture  con- 
tent to  the  desired  per  centage  in  the  finished  butter,  have  not 
proven  entirely  successful. 

In  the  absence  of  the  availability  of  a  more  specifically  exact 
method,  the  following  procedure  is  recommended : 

1.  Have  the  churning  temperature  of  the  cream  sufficiently 
low  to  complete  the  churning  process  in  40  to  60  minutes  and  to 
produce  butter  of  a  good  firm  body.    Do  not  overload  the  churn 
and  run  the  churn  at  about  30  revolutions  per  minute. 

2.  Hold  the  cream  at  the  churning  temperature  not  less 
than  two  hours. 

3.  Wash  with  water  at  a  temperature  the  same,  or  nearly 
the  same,  as  the  temperature  of  the  buttermilk,  drain  well  and 
give  the  churn  a  revolution  or  two  to  bring  the  butter  up  on 
the  shelves. 

4.  If  the  butter  happens  to  be  unexpectedly  soft,  use  wash 
water  several  degrees  colder  than  the  buttermilk.     This  condi- 
tion, however,  tends  toward  a  leaky  body. 

5.  If  the  butter  happens  to  be  excessively  firm,  use  wash 
water  a  few  degrees  warmer  than  the  temperature  of  the  but- 
termilk. 

6.  Trench   the   butter,   distribute   the  salt  uniformly   over 
the  entire  trench,  wet  the  salt  with  a  small  amount  of  water 
and  close  the  trench.   In  the  case  of  a  tendency  toward  excessive 
moisture,  omit  wetting  of  the  salt. 

7.  Give  the  butter  from  12  to  20  revolutions  in  a  four-roll 
churn,  or  25  to  35  revolutions  in  a  two-roll  or  one-roll  churn, 
according  to  needs,  and  test  for  moisture. 

8.  If  previous  experience  has  shown  that  there  is  a  tendency 
for  butter  to  take  up  excessive  moisture,  stop  the  workers  after 
every  few  revolutions  of  the  churn  and  allow  the  butter  to  drain, 
with  churn  doors  down  and  ajar  and  the  churn  swinging  freely. 


544  COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 

9.  If  previous  experience  has  shown  that  there  is  a  tendency 
for  butter  to  be  low  in  moisture,  work  with  the  churn  doors 
closed. 

10.  If  the  moisture  test  taken  at  the  churn  (see  paragraph 
7)  is  high,  allow  the  butter  to  set  for  a  few  minutes,  then  give 
the  churn  another  revolution  with  the  workers  in  gear  and  again 
let  drain  with  the  churn  doors  down  and  ajar.    Repeat  this  until 
the  test  shows  that  excessive  moisture  is  no  longer  present. 

11.  If  the  excess  moisture  refuses  to  be  expelled  by  follow- 
ing directions  in  paragraph  10,  remove  the  butter  to  the  cooler 
in  tubs  or  other  containers,  allow  it  to  harden  overnight.    The 
next  morning  strip  the  tubs,  cut  the  butter  into  small  pieces  with 
wire,  and  rework  as  in  paragraph  10.    This  will  usually  bring  the 
moisture'  down  to  the  desired  point. 

12.  If.  after  following  directions  in  paragraph  11,  the  mois- 
ture is  still  excessive,  put  the  butter  in  the  cooler  again  and 
repeat  the  reworking  next  day. 

13.  If  the  moisture  test  (see  paragraph  7)  is  slightly  too 
low,  give  the  butter  a  few  more  revolutions  with  the  churn 
gates   closed  and  test  again. 

14.  If  the  moisture  test  (see  paragraph  7)  is  considerably 
too  low,  calculate  the  amount  of  water  needed  to  raise  it  to  the 
desired   point   and   add   the   calculated   amount   of   water  at   a 
temperature  a  few  degrees  higher  than  the  temperature  of  the 
buttermilk  and  work  again  with  the  churn  doors  closed  until 
the  desired  per  cent  moisture  has  been  reached.     Calculate  the 
amount  of  water  needed  by  multiplying  the  difference  between 
the  test  secured  and  the  test  desired  by  one  ond  one-fourth  times 
the  pounds  of  fat  in  the  churn  and  divide  by  100. 

Example :     Test  desired   15.9  per  cent 

Test  secured  13.5  per  cent 


Difference    2.4  per  cent 

Fat  in   churn 800  Ibs. 

2.4  X  1.25  X  800 

—  24  Ibs.  water  to  be  added. 

1UU 

15.  It  will  be  found,  in  following  the  above  suggestions, 
that  the  results  may  fall  short  of  those  desired  under  many 
conditions,  in  which  case  they  need  modification  to  suit  condi- 
tions. 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OP  BUTTER  545 

For  instance,  in  churns  in  which  the  free  water  in  the  churn 
precedes  the  butter  in  its  movement  toward  and  through  the 
workers,  increase  in  moisture  content  may  be  found  exceed- 
ingly difficult.  Under  these  conditions  great  care  should  be 
taken  not  to  drain  and  especially  not  to  work  the  butter  ex- 
cessively before  salting.  Continued  working  and  draining  before 
salting  also  renders  complete  solution  of  the  salt  difficult  be- 
cause it  may  cause  such  a  reduction  of  the  moisture  in  butter, 
that  not  enough  water  is  left  to  readily  dissolve  the  salt  and 
these  conditions  make  the  assimilation  of  free  water  difficult, 
in  spite  of  overworking. 

The  author's  purpose  of  submitting  these  very  inexact  sug- 
gestions is  merely  to  place  before  the  buttermaker,  especially  if 
he  be  a  beginner,  some  concrete  idea  of  the  principles  involved 
and  their  practical  application,  which  may  assist  him  in  working 
out  his  own  method  of  moisture  control  that  will  best  suit  his 
local  conditions  and  equipment. 

Relation  of  per  cent  moisture  to  quality  of  butter. — Within 
reasonable  limits,  not  exceeding  about  16  per  cent,  the  moisture 
content  of  butter  has  no  marked  effect  on  its  quality.  Butter  con- 
taining 16  per  cent  moisture,  other  conditions  being  the  same, 
may  have  as  good  quality  and  may  keep  as  well,  as  butter  con- 
taining only  12  per  cent  moisture.  Generally  speaking,  however, 
excessive  moisture  does  not  improve  the  quality  of  the  butter, 
and  it  may  give  rise  to  butter  of  very  inferior  quality,  develop- 
ing such  off-flavors  as  oiliness  and  fishiness.  This  is  not  neces- 
sarily due  so  much  to  the  actual  amount  of  water  present,  but 
rather  to  the  process  of  manufacture  that  was  responsible  for 
the  high  water  content. 

Whenever  the  high  per  cent  of  water  is  the  result  of  over- 
working the  butter,  quality  is  sacrificed.  The  breaking  down 
of  the  grain  and  the  emulsification  of  air  in  butter,  which  are 
inevitable  incidents  to  such  moisture  incorporation,  are  antag- 
onistic to  good  flavor  and  keeping  quality.  They  invite  oxidation 
and  other  channels  of  decomposition.  This  is  especially  the  case 
with  butter  made  from  sour  cream. 

Butter  made  in  summer  readily  holds  16  per  cent  water 
without  overworking.  Such  butter  is  entirely  normal,  its  grain 


546  COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 

has  suffered  no  mutilation.  It  may  therefore  be  of  just  as  good 
flavor  and  keeping  quality  as  butter  containing  much  less  water. 
In  fact,  if  the  low-moisture  butter  required  excessive  working  in 
order  to  reduce  the  water  content,  the  high-moisture  butter  may 
be  superior. 

On  the  other  hand,  high-moisture  butter  made  in  winter  is 
often  very  inferior  to  low-moisture  butter,  because  overworking 
was  necessary  in  order  to  hold  up  the  moisture  content. 

In  winter,  when  the  butterfat  is  naturally  firm  and  the 
butter  tends  to  be  low  in  moisture,  it  may  be  preferable,  from 
the  standpoint  of  quality,  if  the  buttermaker  insists  on  incor- 
porating the  maximum  water  permitted  by  law,  to  raise  the 
churning  temperature  sufficiently  to  make  the  butter  "come"  in 
very  slightly  softer  condition,  rendering  it  more  miscible  with 
water  and  thereby  making  unnecessary  excessive  working,  rather 
than  to  mutilate  the  body  of  very  firm  butter  by  overworking, 
always  providing,  however,  that  the  slightly  less  firm  butter  is 
not  overworked.  The  buttermaker  should  clearly  understand 
that  the  less  firm  the  butter,  the  greater  the  danger  of  over- 
working. Soft  butter  does  not  stand  much  working  without 
injury  to  its  grain.  It  also  usually  tends  to  have  a  leaky  body. 

The  Curd. — The  curd  represents  the  nitrogenous  constitu- 
ents of  butter.  It  is  generally  thought  of  as  the  casein  (casein 
lactate)  derived  from  the  buttermilk.  This  impression  may  be 
somewhat  erroneous,  as  it  appears  that  there  are  other  nitrog- 
enous substances  in  butter  with  properties  differing  somewhat 
from  those  of  casein  and  casein  lactate.  Storch1  separated  from 
butter  a  nitrogenous  substance  which  formed  a  slimy  precipitate 
in  acetic  acid,  quite  different  from  the  usual  white,  cheeselike, 
lumpy  or  flocculent  precipitate  formed  by  the  casein.  This  slimy 
precipitate  was  insoluble  in  weak  ammonia,  and  in  a  2  per  cent 
solution  of  sodium  hydroxide,  while  the  casein  dissolves  exceed- 
ingly readily  in  these  solutions.  According  to  Storch,  this 
nitrogenous  substance  corresponds  completely  with  a  protein 
associated  with  the  fat  globules.  He  claims  that  on  the  basis 
of  its  insolubility  in  the  above  alkalies,  this  slimy  substance 

1  Storch — 36    Bericht    des    Koenigl.    Veterinar-    und    Landbauhochschule- 
Laboratoriums,  Kopenhagen,  Denmark. 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER  547 

constituted  a  little  over  60  per  cent  of  the  protein,  or  curd,  in 
butter,  while  the  remainder  of  about  40  per  cent  is  casein. 

Storch's  findings  and  conclusions  may  assist  in  the  explana- 
tion why,  even  when  the  churning  process  is  stopped  while  the 
butter  granules  are  still  exceedingly  minute,  and  when  this 
butter  is  subsequently  very  thoroughly  washed  with  repeated 
washings,  so  that  the  butter  drains  perfectly  clear,  it  is  not 
possible  to  reduce  the  curd  content,  as  determined  by  the  Kjel- 
dahl  method,  to  any  appreciable  extent  below  about  .4  per  cent. 
This  slimy  protein  substance  does  not  wash  out. 

The  curd  content  of  butter  is  determined  and  expressed  in 
one  or  the  other  of  two  entirely  different  ways  and  yielding 
results  in  per  cent  curd,  that  differ  from  one  another.  One  way 
is  to  determine  the  nitrogen  content  of  butter,  and  by  multiply- 
ing the  results  by  the  factor  6.38,  expressing  it  as  per  cent 
protein.  This  represents  the  true  curd  content.  The  other  way 
is  to  determine  the  per  cent  curd  by  difference,  by  deducting 
the  sum  of  the  per  cent  of  fat,  moisture  and  salt  from  100.  In 
this  case  the  per  cent  curd  so  obtained  embraces,  aside  from  the 
protein,  also  the  traces  of  ash,  acid  and  lactose  contained  in 
butter.  This  is  termed  the  physiological  curd. 

In  the  case  of  the  true  curd  of  butter,  the  percentage  of 
curd  usually  fluctuates  between  about  .5  per  cent  and  one  per 
cent,  averaging  about  from  .6  to  .7  per  cent,  provided  that  the 
butter  is  washed  in  a  normal  manner. 

Butter  made  from  sweet  cream,  and  unsalted  butter,  has 
a  slightly  higher  curd  content  than  butter  made  from  ripened 
cream  and  butter  that  was  salted.  Butter  that  is  only  very 
slightly  washed  contains  more  curd  than  butter  in  the  manu- 
facture of  which  the  churn  is  stopped  when  the  granules  are 
still  very  small  and  which  are  washed  thoroughly.  Butter  that 
is  not  washed  at  all  usually  contains  from  about  1  to  1.5  per 
cent  curd. 

In  case  of  expressing  the  curd  content  as  physiological  curd, 
the  percentage  of  curd  averages  from  .5  to  .6  per  cent  higher  than 
the  true  curd. 

The  Salt. — The  salt  is  the  one  constituent  of  butter  strictly 
foreign  to  the  natural  composition  of  butter,  unsalted  butter  con- 


548  COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 

taining  only  very  minute  traces  of  sodium  chloride  as  a  part  of 
its  mineral  content.  Being  added  to  the  butter,  the  amount  of 
salt  which  butter  may  contain  is  controlled  exclusively  by  the 
buttermaker. 

The  great  bulk  of  all  butter  manufactured  in  the  United 
States  is  salted  butter,  and  most  of  the  foreign  butter  intended 
for  export  trade  is  also  salted  butter. 

Salted  butter  contains  from  about  1  to  5  per  cent  of  salt. 
Most  of  the  salted  butter  on  the  market  averages  from  about 
2.5  to  4.0  per,  cent  salt,  and  the  great  bulk  contains  between  3 
and  3.5  per  cent  salt. 

For  the  best  interests  of  the  butter  industry,  excessive  salt- 
ing should  be  avoided  and  the  per  cent  salt  should  be  held 
down  to  below  4  per  cent. 

The  consumer's  objection  to  excessively  salted  butter  is 
clearly  expressed  by  the  San  Francisco  Wholesale  Dairy  Produce 
which  issued  a  ruling  that  after  February,  1,  1916,  the  salt  con- 
tent of  all  butter  coming  into  San  Francisco  shall  be  three  per 
cent.  They  further  state  that  practically  all  the  butter  that  had 
been  coming  into  San  Francisco  recently  (prior  to  February  1, 
1916)  contained  a  much  higher  per  cent  of  salt  and  that  one  of 
the  chief  complaints  on  all  butter  was  that  butter  contained  too 
much  salt.  See  also  Chapter  XI  on  Salting. 

The  Lactose,  C12  H22  Olt  +  H2O.~ Normal  butter  contains 
from  about  .20  to  .45  per  cent  of  lactose,  or  milk  sugar.  The 
lactose  is  the  sugar  of  milk  which  is  present  in  solution  in  the 
milk,  cream  and  buttermilk,  and  a  portion  of  which  the  butter- 
granules,  in  their  process  of  forming,  pick  up  and  lock  up.  The 
per  cent  lactose  in  butter  obviously  varies  somewhat  according 
to  the  extent  of  washing  and  removal  of  buttermilk.  The  more 
thorough  the.  washing,  the  less  lactose  the  butter  will  contain. 

In  instances  where  skimmilk  powder  is  added  to  the 
butter  in  the  churn,  such  as  is  done  in  some  creameries  for  the 
purpose  of  incorporating  extraneous  curd  in  the  butter,  the  lac- 
tose content  of  the  butter  also  increases.  In  experiments  with 
skimmilk  powder,  conducted  by  Hunziker  and  Hosman,1  butter 
contained  as  high  as  1.26  per  cent  lactose. 

1  Hunziker  and  Hosman — A  Study  of  the  Composition  of  Butter.  Blue 
Valley.  Research  Laboratory,  1917. 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER  549 

The  lactose  content  of  butter  decreases  slightly  in  storage, 
partly  because  of  the  probable  conversion  of  small  portions  of 
the  lactose,  through  bacterial,  or  through  chemical  action,  into 
lactic  acid,  glycolic  acid  and  other  acids,  and  partly  due  to  loss 
of  water  or  brine  by  leakage. 

The  lactose  is  one  of  the  unstable  and  readily  fermentable 
constituents  of  butter,  it  rapidly  yields  to  bacterial  action,  split- 
ting up  into  simpler  compounds,  of  which  lactic  acid  is  a  very 
prominent  one,  but  not  necessarily  the  only  one. 

Under  certain  conditions  lactose  also  readily  yields  to 
chemical  decomposition  detrimental  to  the  market  value  of  the 
butter.  Being  itself  a  powerful  reducing  agent,  it  invites  and 
accelerates  oxidation  in  butter,  especially  in  a  weakly  alkaline 
condition.  In  butter  made  from  over-neutralized  cream,  the 
lactose  may  give  rise  to  most  disastrous  butter  defects,  such  as 
bleached  and  tallowy  butter,  as  demonstrated  by  Hunziker  and 
Hosman.1 

In  butter  with  a  decided  acid  reaction,  on  the  other  hand, 
lactose  appears  to  have  no  deteriorating  action,  on  the  contrary, 
it  tends  to  exert  a  slight,  but  distinct  preservative  influence.  It 
is  for  this  reason  that  some  butter  manufacturers  purposely  add 
lactose  to  their  butter. 

The  Acid. — Fresh  butter  contains  from  about  .1  to  .35  per 
cent  acid,  presumably  largely,  but  generally  not  exclusively, 
lactic  acid.  In  a  similar  manner,  as  in  the  case  of  curd  and  ash 
of  butter,  the  acid  is  derived  from  the  cream  o'f  which  it  is  a 
natural  constituent.  Therefore,  sweet  cream  butter  contains  less 
acid  than  ripened-cream  butter,  and  butter  made  from  sour 
cream  that  has  been  neutralized  contains  less  acid  than  butter 
from  unneutralized  sour  cream.  Butter  made  from  pasteurized 
cream  contains  less  acid  than  butter  made  from  raw  cream. 
This  is  especially  the  case  with  the  flash  process,  or  high  tem- 
perature pasteurization,  as  shown  by  Hunziker,  Spitzer  and 
Mills2  in  Table  77. 

The  decrease  of  the  acidity  of  butter,  due  to  pasteurization 
of  the  cream  is  in  all  probability  due  to  the  presence,  in  the  raw 


1  Hunziker  &  Hosman — Tallowy  Butter,  Blue  Valley  Research  Laboratory, 
also  Journal  of  Dairy  Science,  Vol.  I,  No.  4,  1917. 

2  Hunziker,    Spitzer    and    Mills — Pasteurization    of    Sour,    Farm-Skimmed 
Cream  for  Butter  Making.    Purdue  Bulletin  203,  1917. 


550 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 


cream,  of  carbon  dioxide  and  other  volatile  acids  which  are  ex- 
pelled by  the  heat  of  pasteurization,  and  the  higher  the  tem- 
perature of  pasteurization  the  more  readily  do  these  volatile 
acids  escape.  It  has  been  noticed  also  by  the  author  and  others 
that  the  reduction  of  acid  due  to  pasteurization  is  much  greater 
in  the  case  of  cream  that  had  undergone  considerable  fermenta- 
tion before  pasteurization,  than  in  cream  that  is  comparatively 
fresh  and  unfermented. 


Table  77.— Per  Cent  Acid  in  Butter  Made  from  Different  Por- 
tions of  the  Same  Cream  Before  and  After  Pasteuriza- 
at  145°  F.  20  Minutes,  165°  F.  Flash  and 
185°  F.  Flash. 


Per  Cent  Acid  in  Butter. 

Raw 
Cream 
Butter 

Pasteurized  Cream  Butter. 

145°  F. 
20  Minutes 

165°  F. 
Flash 

185°  F. 

Flash 

Fresh  butter 

.3260 

.2448 

.2250 

.2034 

In  storage  the  acidity  of  the  butter  increases  slightly,  -  due 
to  the  breaking  down  of  a  portion  of  the  milk  sugar  as  shown 
in  the  following  results  by  Hunziker,  Spitzer  and  Mills,1  and 

Table  78.— Showing  Relation  of  Per  Cent.  Lactose  and  Per  Cent. 

Acid  in  Fresh  and  Stored  Butter  Made  from  Raw  and 

Pasteurized  Cream — Averages  of  44  Churnings. 


Lactose 

Acidity 

Age  of  butter 

decrease 

per 

increase 

cream 

months 

per 

in  3 

cent. 

in  3 

cent. 

months 

months 

Raw 

fresh 

.339 

.3073 

Raw 

1  month 

.367 

.3613 

Raw 

3  months 

336 

.063 

4073 

.1000 

145  degrees  F.  20  minutes 

fresh 

398 

2565 

145  degrees  F.  20  minutes 

1  month 

360 

2745 

145  degrees  P.  20  minutes 
165  degrees  P.  flash 

3  months 
fresh 

.353 

.388 

.045 

.2835 
2295 

.027 

165  degrees  F.  flash 
165  degrees  F.  flash 
185  degrees  F.  flash 
185  degrees  F.  flash 
185  degrees  F.  flash 

1  month 
3  months 
fresh 
1  month 
3  months 

.343 
.315 
.389 
.360 
.350 

.073 
.039 

.2543 
.2655 
.2093 
.2295 
.2655 

.036 
.056 

x  Hunziker,    Spitzer   and    Mills— Pasteurization    of    Sour,    Farm-Skimmed 
Cream  for  Butter  Making.    Purdue  Bulletin  203,  1917. 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER  551 

probably  also  as  the  result  of  partial  cleavage  of  the  proteins 
and  fats. 

It  was  formerly  believed  that  the  acidity  was  favorable  to 
the  keeping  quality  of  butter,  and  that  ripened  cream  butter 
would  keep  better  than  sweet  cream  butter.  The  great  bulk  of 
experimental  data  on  the  relation  of  acidity  to  keeping  quality, 
and  the  experience  in  the  commercial  manufacture  of  butter, 
have  amply  demonstrated  that  such  is  not  the  case.  It  is  now 
conceded  by  the  best  authorities  on  the  subject,  that  the  acid 
content  of  butter,  is  one  of  the  active  agents,  which,  in  com- 
bination with  other  factors,  hastens  decomposition,  leading  to 
the  development  of  specific  flavor  defects,  and  shortening  the 
life  of  good  butter. 

The  Ash. — The  Ash,  or  mineral  matter,  is  present  in  butter 
in  very  small  amounts  only,  ranging  from  about  .09  to  .20  per 
cent.  It  very  rarely  exceeds  .14  per  cent  and  it  averages  about 
.12  per  cent.  It  is  derived  from  the  ash  of  milk  and  cream  and 
therefore  has  a  similar  composition  as  the  ash  of  milk,  which 
is  as  follows: 

Table   79. — Composition  of  Ash  in  Butter  from   Sour   Cream, 
Butter  Not  Washed  but  Thoroughly  Worked.1 

Potassium  Oxide 19.329  per  cent 

Sodium  Oxide  7.714  "  " 

Calcium  Oxide 23.092  "  " 

Magnesium  Oxide 3.287  "  " 

Iron  Oxide  (Ferric)  and  Sulphuric  Acid 288  "  " 

Phosphoric  Acid   (Anhydride) 44.273  "  " 

Chlorine  .  2.604  "  " 


100.587 
Less  Oxygen  Equivalent  to  Chlorine 587     " 


100.000   ' 

1  Fleischmann — Lehrbuch  der  Milchwirtschaft,   1901. 


552 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  MILK 
COMPOSITION   OF   MILK. 


Table  80. — Average,  Maximum  and  Minimum  Composition  of 

Cow's  Milk. 


Average  Composition  by  Different 

Max- 

Min- 

Investigators 

of 
Milk 

imum 
per  ct. 

imum 
per  ct. 

Far- 
rington 
&  Woll1 
per  ct. 

Van 

Slyke2 
5552  an- 
alyses 
per  cent 

Eckles3 
per  ct. 

Bab- 
cock4 
per  cent 

Fleisch- 
mann5 
per  cent 

Water 

90.0 

82.0 

87.4 

87.1 

87.1 

87.17 

87.75 

Fat 

7.8 

2.3 

3.7 

3.9 

3.9 

3.69 

3.40 

Casein              1 
Albumin          '  J 

4.6 

2.5 

3Z 

2.5 

.7 

3.4 

3.02 
.53 

2.80 
.70 

Milk  sugar 

6.0 

3.5 

5.0 

5.1 

4.75 

4.88 

4.60 

Ash 

*  .9 

.6 

.7. 

.7 

.75 

.71 

.75 

Total  Solids 

12.6 

12.9 

12.80 

12.83 

12.25 

Solids,  not  fat 

8.9 

9.0 

8.90 

9.14 

8.85 

Specific  gravity  at  60°  F.    1.02^—1.034;  average  1.032. 
Specific  heat, at  61-62.6°  F.  .9406— .9523.    (Chanoz  and'Vaillant.) 
At  57-61°  F.  .9457,  at  81°  F.  .9351  (Fleischmann.5) 
Freezing  point  —.54  to  —.57°  C.  Average  —.555°  C.  (31°  F.)  (Grim- 
mer.6) 


Table  81. — Average  Composition  of  Cow's  Milk,  by  Major 
Breeds.    Percentage  of  Fat  in  Total  Solids.3 


Breeds 

Fat 
Per  Cent 

Total 
Solids 
Per  Cent 

Solid  not 
Fat 
Per  Cent 

Parts  of 
Fat  in  100 
Parts  of 
Total 
Solids 

Holstein  

345 

1229 

884 

28 

Ayrshire  

385 

1298 

913 

296 

Guernsey  

498 

1420 

922 

350 

Tersev.  . 

5  14 

1490 

976 

345 

Brown  Swiss.  . 

3.91 

13.28 

9.37 

29.4 

1  Farrington  and  Woll,  Testing  Milk  and  Its  Products,  1908. 

8  Van  Slyke.  Modern  Methods  of  Testing  Milk  and  Its  Products.  1916. 

« Eckles,  Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production,  1911. 

*Babcock,  Wing  Milk  and  Its  Products,  1909. 

6  Fleischmann,  Das  Buch  der  Milchwirtschaft,  1901. 

•  Grimmer,  Chemie  und  Physiologic  der  Milch,  1910. 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  MII.K  553 

Table  82. — Composition  of  Ash  in  Normal  Cow's  Milk.1 


Mineral  Constituents  In  Milk 

In  Ash 
Per  Cent 

In  Milk 
Per  Cent 

Potassium  oxide  (potash)  

25  02 

175 

Sodium  oxide  (soda).  

1001 

070 

Calcium  oxide  (lime)  

2001 

140 

Magnesium  oxide  (magnesia)  .  . 

242 

017 

Iron  oxide   (ferric)  

13 

001 

Sulphur  trioxide  

3  84 

A?7 

Phosphoric  pentoxide  

2429 

170 

Chlorine.  

1428 

100 

Total  ash  

100.00 

.700 

Table  83.— Composition  of  Colostrum  Milk.2 


Time  After  Calving 

Specific 
Gravity 

Water 

% 

Fat 

% 

Casein 

% 

Albumin 

% 

Sugar 

% 

Ash 

% 

Total 
Solids 

% 

Immediately  .  . 

1.068 

73.07 

3.54 

2.65 

16.56 

3.00 

1.18 

26.93 

After  10  hours. 

1.046 

78.77 

4.66 

4.28 

9.32 

1.42 

1.55 

21.23 

After  24  hours. 

1.043 

80.63 

4.75 

4.50 

6.25 

2.85 

1.02 

19.37 

After  48  hours. 

1.042 

85.81 

4.21 

3.25 

2.31 

3.46 

.96 

14.19 

After  72  hours. 

1.035 

86.64 

4.08 

3.33 

1.03 

4.10 

.82 

13.36 

Table  84.  —  Composition  of  Ash  in  Colostrum  Milk.3 

Potassium  oxide  ...........  ..................     7.23  per 

Sodium  oxide  ____  ..............  ....  ...........     5.72  " 

Calcium  oxide  ...:..  ____  >  .....................  34.85  " 

Magnesium  oxide   ............................     2.06  " 

Iron  oxide  (ferric)  .  .  .  .  ................  ____  _____       .52  " 

Phosphoric  acid  (anhydride)  ...................  41.43  " 

Sulphuric  acid  .......  .  .  .  ..............  *  ........  16  " 

Chlorine  .  ,   11.25  " 


cent 


Less  oxygen  equivalent  to  chlorine 


103.22 
3.22 


100.00 


1  Leach — Food  Inspection  and  Analysis,  1914. 

2  Engling-Leach — Food  Inspection  and  Analysis,   1914. 
8  Fleischmann — Lehrbuch  der  Milchwirtschaft,  1901. 


554 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF 


Table  85. — Composition  of  Mammalian  Milks. 


Kind  of 
Milk 

Analyst  or 
Author 

No.  of 

Analyses 

«§£ 
•3  > 

ccO 

f 

£ 

Total  Solids 

% 

* 

1 

c 

3^ 
| 

•1^ 
o 

1  Albumin 

%  II 

1  Lactose 

%  | 

£ 

1 

WOMAN— 
Minimum.. 
Maximum  . 
Average  .  .  . 

cowT 

Minimum  .  . 
Maximum  . 
Average  .  .  . 

GOAT— 
Minimum.  . 
Maximum  . 
Average  .  .  . 

EWE— 
Minimum.  . 
Maximum  . 
Average  .  .  . 

BUFFALO— 
Minimum.  . 
Maximum  . 
Average.  .  . 

Koenig* 

1.027 
1.032 

L0348 
1.0285 

1.0290 
1.0340 
1.0320 

81.09 
91.40 
87.41 
88.13 
89.47 

82.0 
90.0 

87.4 
87.1 

87.17 

82.02 
90.16 
85.71 
85.80 
87.11 

74.47 
87.02 
80.82 
78.70 
83.00 

81.56 
84.23 
82.69 
82.93 
81.67 

8.60 

18.91 
12.59 
11.87 
10.53 

10.00 
18.00 
12.60 
12.90 
12.83 

9.84 
17.98 
14.29 
14.20 
12.89 

12.98 
25.53 
19.18 
21.30 
17.00 

15.77 
18.44 
17.31 
17.07 
18.33 

1.43 
6.83 
3.87 
2.24 
3.02 

2.3 

7.8 
3.7 
3.9 
3.69 

3.10 
7.55 
4.78 
4.50 
4.45 

2.81 
9.80 
6.86 
8.94 
5.30 

6.69 
9.19 
7.87 
7.46 
9.02 

.50 
4.32 
2.29 
2.41 
1.89 

2.5 
4.6 
3.2 
3.2 
3.55 

3.22 
5.05 
4.29 
5.00 
3.67 

4.42 
7.46 
6.52 
6.34 
6.30 

3.99 

7.78 
5.88 
4.59 
3.99 

.18 
1.96 
1.03 
1.96 
.95 

.32 
2.36 
1.26 
.45 
.94 

3.88 
8.34 
6.21 

i37 

3.5 
6.0 
5.0 
5.1 

4.88 

3.26 
5.77 
4.66 
4.00 
4.09 

2.76 
7.95 
4.91 
5.02 
4.60 

4.16 
5.18 
4.52 
421 

.12 
1.90 
.31 
.25 
.32 

.60 
.90 
.70 
.70 
.71 

.39 
1.06 
.76 
.70 
.72 

.13 
1.72 
.89 
1.00 
.80 

.72 
.85 
.76 
.86 
.86 

I 
« 

Grimmer2  

« 

Farrington  &Woll3 
« 

Van  Slyke4  
Babcock5  

200 
1 
1 

5552 

2.5 
3.02 

2.44 
3.94 
3.20 
3.80 
2.00 

3.59 
5.69 
4.97 

'70 
.53 

.78 
2.01 
1.09 
1.20 
1.67 

.83 
1.77 
1.55 

Koenig* 

1.0280 
1.0360 
1.0305 
1.0320 
1.0313 

1.0298 
1.0385 
1.0341 
.0377 
.0369 

.0310 
.0336 
.0323 
1.0339 

« 

Fleischmann6  .... 
Scheurlen2  .... 

'266 
Avg. 

Koenig1   . 

% 

« 

Sartori2  

"32 
2500 

Avg. 

Fleischmann6  .... 
Szentkiralyi2  .    . 

4.60 

1.70 

a 
u 

Fleischmann6  .... 
Rimini2  

"2 

3.63 

.73 

5.06 

1  Koenig — Chemie  der  Menschl.  Nahrungs-  und  Genussmittel.     Compiled 
by  Leach. 

2  Grimmer — Chemie  und  Physiologic  der  Milch,  1910. 

8  Farrington  and  Woll — Testing  Milk  and  Its  Products,  1908. 

*Van  Slyke— Modern  Methods  of  Testing  Milk  and  Its  Products,  1916. 

B  Babcock-Wing — Milk  and  Its  Products,  1909. 

6  Fleischmann — Das  Buch  der  Milchwirtschaft,  1901. 

7  Richmond — Dairy  Chemistry,  1914. 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  CREAM 


555 


Table  85.— (Continued.)* 


Kind  of 
Milk 

Analyst  or 
Author 

o'! 

6  § 
K< 

0   >> 
fj-^  -*-3 

coO 

r 

Total  Solids 
%  | 

£ 

2 

Total  Protein 

%  II 

.9$ 

1 
o 

i$ 
1 

f$ 

£ 

1 

Mare  
Ass         ..      . 

Fleischmann*  .  .  .  . 

1.0310 
1.0347 
1.0350 
1.0330 
1.0360 
1.0320 

90.70 
90.78 
90.13 
88.85 
89.64 
91.23 
89  14 

9.30 
9.22 
9.87 
11.15 
10.36 
8.77 
1086 

1.20 
1.21 
.94 
.36 
1.64 
1.15 

1    °r8 

2.00 
1.99 
1.65 
1.31 
2.22 
1.50 
9S1 

5.70 
5.67 
6.98 
4.94 
5.99 
6.00 
6.04 
4.80 
4.25 
3.13 
3.11 
4.91 
1.95 
1.33 

0.00 

.40 
.35 
.30 
.31 
.51 
.40 
.53 
.38 
1.07 
1.05 
.91 
.51 
2.56 
.57 
.46 
.99 
.46 

Koenig1  

47 

1.24 

.75 

Vieth2  

Schlossman2  .... 

.98 
.67 
.94 

.33 
1.55 
.53 

Mule 

Koenig1  

5 

Ellenberger2  

Aubert  &  Colby2. 
Leed»  
Henry  &  Well2.  .  . 
Koenig1  

Sow  

Avg. 



91.59 
80.96 
84.09 
77.00 
81.63 
69.50 
41.11 
48.76 
69.80 
48.67 

8.41 
19.04 
15.91 
23.00 
18.37 
30.50 
58.89 
51.24 
30.20 
51.33 

1.59 
7.06 
4.55 
9.26 
3.33 
10.45 
45.80 
43.71 
19.40 
43.67 

1.64 
6.20 
7.23 
9.72 
9.08 
15.54 
11.19 
7.57 
9.43 
7.11 

.... 

.... 

Doe 

Koenig1  

4.15 
3.12 

5.57 
5.96 

Cat 

Koenig1 

Rabbit  

Pizzi*  

1.0493 

Guinea  Pig  .  . 
Delphin.  . 

Purdie2 

Franklain2  

Whale 

Scheibe2  

Richmond7  

*  For  references  to  above  table,  see  previous  page. 

Table  86. — Composition  of  Cream. 


Constituents 
of 
Cream 

By  Centrifugal  Separation 

By  Gravity 
Creaming 

Snyder1 
% 

Rich- 
mond* 
% 

Fleisch- 
mann* 

% 

Fleisch- 
mann8 

% 

Fleisch- 
mann* 

% 

Koenig4 
% 

Water 

66.41 
25.72 

}   3.70 

3.54 
.63 
33.59 

7.87 

39.37 
56.09 

2.29 

1.57 
.38 
60.63 
4.24 

29.6 
67.5 

1.3 

1.5 
.1 
70.4 
2.9 

68.5 
25.0 

2.8 

3.3 
.4 
31.5 
6.5 

72.9 
20.0 

3.0 

3.6 
.5 
27.1 
7.11 

68.82 

22.66 
3.76 

4.23 
.53 
31.18 
8.42 

Fat    

Casein              .  . 

Albumin 

Milk  Sugar  
Ash. 

Total  Solids  
Solids  not  Fat  .  . 

Specific  gravity. — See  Standardization  of  Milk  and  Cream. 
Specific  heat  of  cream  testing  19.18%  fat  at  14-16°  C.  .9833; 
at  27.5°  C.  .8443  (Fleischmann).3 


1  Snyder — Dairy  Chemistry. 

2  Richmond — Dairy  Chemistry,  1914. 

*  Fleischmann — Lehrbuch  der  Milchwlrtschaft,   1901. 

*  Leach — Food  Inspection  and  Analysis,  1914. 


556 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  SKIM  MILK 


Table  87. — Composition  of  Ash  in  Cream.4 

Potassium  oxide 28.381  per  cent 

Sodium  oxide 8.679  "  " 

Calcium  oxide   23.411 

Magnesium  oxide  3.340 

Iron  oxide  (ferric) 2.915  "  " 

Phosphoric  acid   (anhydride)    21.735  "  " 

Chlorine  .                                                            ....  14.895  "  " 


Less  oxygen  equivalent  to  chlorine 


103.356 
3.356    "    'v* 

100.000    "      " 


Table  88. — Composition  of  Skimmilk. 


Centrifugal 

Separation 

Gravity 
Creaming 

in 
Skim  Milk 

VanSlykei 

% 

Snyder2 

% 

Rich- 
mond3 

% 

Fleisch- 
mann4 

% 

Fleisch- 
mann4 

% 

Water  
Fat 

90.30 
.10 

90.25 
.20 

90.48 
.12 

90.35 
.20 

89.85 
.75 

Casein  
Albumin  . 

2.75 

.80 

|   3.60 

3.22 
.42 

I   4.00 

4.03 

Milk  Sugar  

5.25 

5.15 

4.88 

4.70 

4.06 

Ash  

.80 

.80 

.78 

.75 

.77 

Total  Solids  

9.70 

9.75 

9.52 

9.65 

10.15 

Specific  gravity  at  60°F.  1.035  to  1.038;  average  1.036. 

Specific  heat  at  14  to  16°  C.  .9388*  at  27.5°  C.  .9455  (Fleisch- 
mann)4;  at  0°  C.  .940;  at  15°  C.  .943;  at  40°  C.  .952  (Hammer  and 
Johnson)5. 


xVan  Slyke — Modern  Methods  of  Testing  Milk  and  Its  Products. 
2  Snyder — Dairy  Chemistry. 
"Richmond — Dairy  Chemistry,  1914. 
*  Fleischmann — Lehrbuch  der  Milch wirtschaft. 

6  Hammer  and  Johnson — The  Specific  Heat  of  Milk  Products.     Iowa  Re- 
search Bulletin  14,  1913. 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTERMILK 


557 


Table  89: — Composition  of  Ash  in  Separator  Skim  Milk.5 

Potassium  oxide 31.634  per  cent 

Sodium  oxide 10.265    "      " 

Calcium  oxide  21.913 

Magnesium  oxide   3.115 

Iron  oxide  (ferric) 921     " 

Phosphoric  acid   (anhydride) 19.478    " 

Sulphuric  acid  (anhydride) 1.000    "       " 

Chlorine  15.071 

103.397    "•     " 
Less  oxygen  equivalent  to  chlorine 3.397 

100.000    "       " 
Table  90. — Composition  of  Buttermilk. 


Constituents 
in 
Buttermilk 

From  Ripened  Cream 

From  Sweet  Cream 

Van 

Slykei 

% 

Storch2 
% 

Snyder3  " 
% 

Vieth* 

% 

Fleisch- 
mann8 

% 

Storcha 
% 

Rich- 
mond* 

% 

Water  
Fat  •  

90.6 
.1 

2.8 
.8 
4.4 
.6 

.7 

90.93 
.31 

^3.37 

'  4.58 

.81 

90.5 
.2 

3.3 
5.3 

.7 

90.39 
.50 

3.60 

4.06 
.75 

.80 

91.30 
.50 

3.50 

|  4.00 
.70 

89.74 
1.21 

3.28 

4.98 
.79 

90.98 
.35 

3.51 

/4.42 
1    .01 
.73 

Casein  
Albumin 

Milk  Sugar.  .  .    . 
Lactic  Acid  .... 
Ash  

Specific  gravity  of  sweet-cream  buttermilk  1.033 16. 
Specific  gravity  of  sour-cream  buttermilk  1.03146. 

Table  91. — Composition  of  Ash  in  Buttermilk.5 

Potassium  oxide   24.53 

Sodium  oxide 1 1.54 

Calcium  oxide  19.73 

Magnesium  oxide  3.56 

Iron  oxide  (Ferric)  and  Sulphuric  acid 47 

Phosphoric  acid  (anhydride) 29.89 

Chlorine  .  .   13.27 


per  cent 


Less  oxygen  equivalent  to  chlorine 


102.99 
2.99 

100.00 

1  Van  Slyke — Modern  Methods  of  Test  Milk  and  Its  Products. 

2  Storch — Richmond's  Dairy  Chemistry. 

3  Snyder — Dairy  Chemistry. 

4  Vieth — Richmond's  Dairy  Chemistry. 

6  Flelschmann — T.ehrbuch  der  Milchwirtschaft,  1901. 
6  Richmond — Dairy  Chemistry,  1914. 


558 


COMPOSITION  AND  PROPERTIES  OF  WHEY 


Table  92.— Composition  of  Whey. 


Constituents 

of 
Whey 


VanSlyke 

% 


Fleisch- 
mann 


Koenig 

% 


Smetham 

% 


Vieth  from 
Skim  Milk 


Water 

Fat. . 

Casein 

Albumin . . . 
Milk  Sugar. 

Ash 

Total  Solids 


93.40 
.35 
.10 
.75 

4.80 

.60 

6.60 


93.15 
.35 

1.00 

4.90 
.60 

6.85 


93.38 
.32 

.86 

4.79 
.65 

6.62 


93.33 
.24 

.88 

5.06 
.49 

6.67 


93.00 
.09 

.92 

5.45 
.52 

7.00 


Specific  gravity  1.025  to  1.028  (Fleischmann1). 
Specific  heat,  at  0°  C,  .0978;  at  15°  C.,  .976;  at  60°  C,  .972. 
Hammer  and  Johnson.2 

Table  93. — Composition  of  Separator  Slime. 

Richmond3  Fleischmann1 

per  cent  per  cent 

Water   66.24  68.20 

Fat  . .50  1.44 

Protein   22.  25.34 

Milk  sugar 50 

Other  organic  matter 7.75 

Ash    3.01  3.22 

Total  milk  solids  26.01  30.00 

Table  94. — Composition  of  Ash  in  Separator  Slime.1 

Potassium  oxide   3.155  per  cent 

Sodium  oxide 1.325 

Calcium   oxide    45.025 

Magnesium  oxide 3.361 

Iron  oxide  (ferric)   1.846 

Phosphoric  acid   (anhydride)    43.976 

Chlorine    1.691 

100.381     "      " 
Less  oxygen  equivalent  to  chlorine 381     "      " 

100.00 

1  Fleischmann — Buch  der  Milchwirtschaft,  1901. 

a  Hammer  and  Johnson — The  Specific  Heat  of  Milk  and  Milk  Derivatives. 
Iowa  Research  Bulletin  14.  1913. 

8  Richmond — Dairy  Chemistry,  1914. 


HEAi/THtfui,]smss  OF  BUTTER  f    559 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

HEALTHFULNESS,  FOOD   VALUE  AND   BIOLOGICAL 
PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 

Sanitary  Purity  and  Healthfulness :  The  degree  of  free- 
dom £>f  butter  from  products  of  decomposition  and  from  micro- 
organisms harmful  to  man,  must  of  necessity  vary  greatly  with 
the  purity  of  the  raw  material,  the  milk  and  cream  from  which 
the  butter  is  made  and  with  the  process  used  for  manufacture. 
And  these  factors  in  turn  are  subject  to  wide  variations. 

Whole  milk  creameries  which  receive  their  milk  in  fresh 
condition  and  have  exclusive  control  over  the  cream,  are  in  a 
position  to  prevent  undesirable  fermentations  that  render  both 
cream  and  butter  unpalatable  though  not  necessarily  unwhole- 
some. All  creameries  receiving  cream  instead  of  milk,  depend 
to  a  large  extent  on  the  cream  producer  for  the  quality  and  de- 
gree of  freshness  of  their  raw  material. 

Most  gathered-cream  creameries  receive  their  cream  in  more 
or  less  sour  condition,  the  degree  of  acidity  varying  from  sweet 
cream  with  no  more  than  .2  per  cent  acid,  to  sour  cream  with  an 
acidity  of  from  .3  to  1.2  per  cent  and  averaging  about  .5  per 
cent  acid.  The  acidity  of  the  cream  naturally  varies  with  such 
conditions  as  location,  season  of  year,  facilities  and  inclination 
of  the  producer  to  cool  the  cream  on  the  farm,  and  frequency  of 
delivery  or  shipment. 

Cream  coming  from  territory  in  the  southern  tier  of  the 
dairy  belt,  where  the  climate  is  relatively  warm  and  the  temper- 
ature of  the  available  water  on  the  farm  is  too  high  to  permit 
of  sufficient  cooling  to  check  acid  development  entirely,  will 
naturally  average  higher  in  acidity  than  cream  produced  in  the 
northern  sections  of  the  dairy  belt  where  the  nights  are  general- 
ly cool  and  the  available  water  for  cooling  the  cream  is  cold. 

During  the  hot  summer  months  the  cream  naturally  con- 
tains a  higher  per  cent  of  acid  than  is  the  case  with  winter  cream. 
Farmers  who  have  a  proper  understanding  and  appreciation  of 
the  importance  of  taking  adequate  care  of  their  cream,  and  who 
are  equipped  with  cooling  tanks  for  the  cooling  and  storing  of 
their  cream,  are  in  a  position  to  furnish  a  much  sweeter  cream 


560  HEAI/TH*UI,NESS  OF  BUTTER 

than  producers  lacking  this  knowledge,  appreciation  and  equip- 
ment. 

Creameries  located  in  territories  in  which  the  cow  popula- 
tion is  dense,  the  herds  relatively  large  and  the  radius  of  cream 
supply  condensed,  are  able  to  receive  cream  with  a  lower  acidity 
than  creameries  that  draw  their  supply  from  territories  with  a 
sparse  cow  population,  where  the  herds  are  small  and  far  be- 
tween and  where  dairying  is  merely  a  side  line  of  general  farm- 
ing. In  such  territories  the  volume  of  cream  is  too  small  to 
permit  of  shipments  or  deliveries  sufficiently  frequent  to  insure 
its  arrival  in  sweet  condition. 

Aside  from  the  production  of  acid  in  the  cream,  other  fer- 
mentations may  and  frequently  do  set  in,  which  tend  to  lower 
the  quality  of  the  cream  and  the  flavor,  keeping  quality  and 
market  value  of  the  butter.  The  great  majority  of  these  fer- 
mentations, while  objectionable  from  the  standpoint  of  the  mar- 
ket value  of  the  butter,  are  so  far  as  is  known,  entirely  harmless 
as  related  to  the  health  of  the  consumer.  In  rare  cases 
isolated  cans  of  cream  may  contain  matter  of  putrefaction.  The 
shipment  and  acceptance  of  such  cream  is  unlawful  in  most 
states.  Such  cream  is  rejected  or  discarded  by  the  creameries, 
or  confiscated  by  the  health  authorities. 

In  the  process  of  manufacture  efforts  are  made  to  minimize 
the  effect  of  the  conditions  which  tend  to  jeopardize  the  keeping 
quality  of  the  product.  These  efforts  largely  consist  in 
standardizing  the  acidity  of  the  cream  by  the  use  of  a  neutral- 
izer,  in  pasteurization  to  remove  objectionable  microorganisms, 
in  using  a  pure  culture  starter  of  lactic  acid  bacteria  to  intensi- 
fy the  desirable  flavor,  and  in  washing  the  butter  with  pure 
water  to  eliminate  much  of  the  buttermilk. 

None  of  these  steps  in  the  process  of  manufacture  are  ob- 
jectionable from  the  standpoint  of  the  health  of  the  consumer. 
The  neutralizer  most  commonly  used  is  milk  of  lime  which  in 
itself  is  a  necessary  food  element  of  man  and  if  it  were  taken 
up  by  the  butter  in  appreciable  quantities  could  do  no  possible 
harm.  However,  analyses  have  shown  that  butter  made  from 
cream  in  which  the  acidity  was  standardized  by  the  use  of  lime, 
contained  no  appreciable  increase  in  lime  content  over  butter 
made  from  cream  not  so  treated.  Pasteurization  has  no  noticeable 


HEAI/THFUI<NE;SS  OF  BUTTER  561 

effect  on  the  digestibility  and  wholesomeness  of  the  butter.  The 
use  of  lactic  acid  starter  is  bound  to  have  a  salutary  effect  on  the 
wholesomeness  of  the  butter,  since  lactic  acid  and  lactic  acid 
bacteria  aid  in  digestion  and  assist  in  keeping  the  intestinal 
tract  in  a  healthy  condition.  And  the  washing  of  the  butter 
with  pure  water,  aside  from  freeing  the  butter  from  much  of 
the  elements  of  buttermilk  that  yield  most  readily  to  decompo- 
sition, such  as  curd  and  lactose,  assists  in  removing  any  soluble 
decomposition  products  if  such  products  were  contained  in  the 
cream.  American  butter  contains  no  preservatives  of  any  kind. 
The  addition  of  preservatives  to  butter  is  prohibited  by  the 
Federal  Pure  Food  Act  which  went  in  force  January  1st,  1907. 

It  may  therefore,  be  safely  stated  that  commercial  butter 
is  devoid  of  chemical  ingredients,  such  as  decomposition  prod- 
ucts derived  from  the  cream,  or  chemicals  added  in  the  process 
of  manufacture,  that  have  any  known  harmful  effect  on  the 
health  of  the  consumer. 

The  number  of  bacteria,  yeast  and  mold,  that  may  be  ex- 
pected to  be  found  in  sour,  farm-skimmed  cream,  as  is  received 
at  the  average  gathered  cream  creamery,  is  shown  in  Table  95. 
These  figures  represent  136  separate  churnings,  made  at  $1J, 
seasons  of  the  year.  This  table  further  shows  the  germ-killing: 
efficiency  of  the  holding  and  the  flash  process  of  pasteurization.. 
It  indicates  that  in  either  process  the  reduction  of  bacteria  is 
very  great,  averaging  over  99.9  per  cent  in  the  case  of  the 
holding  process  and  about  99.5  per  cent  in  the  case  of  the  flash 
process. 

The  rate  of  reduction  of  the  different  types  of  micro- 
organisms was  practically  the  same  for  one  and  the  same  process 
of  pasteurization,  showing  that  pasteurization,  as  practiced  in 
the  commercial  creamery,  is  quite  as  efficient  in  its  destruction 
of  the  more  objectionable  types  of  germs,  such  as  the  liquefying 
or  peptonizing  bacteria  and  the  yeast  and  mold,  as  it  is  of  the 
mere  acid  producing  types. 

Freedom  from  Germs  of  Disease:  Milk  is  capable  of  be- 
coming the  carrier  of  germs  of  bovine  diseases  infectious  to 
man,  such  as  tuberculosis,  foot  and  mouth  disease,  milk  sick- 
ness, and  of  germs  of  human  diseases  such  as  tuberculosis,  ty- 
phoid fever,  scarlatina,  diphtheria,  etc.  The  question  is  there- 


562 


HEAI/THFUI,NE;SS  OF  BUTTER 


fore  not  only  pertinent  but  very  important,  does  butter  made 
from  milk  and  cream  infected  with  these  diseases,  contain  the 
disease  germs  or  viruses  and  if  so,  is  it  capable  of  causing  the 
disease  among  the  consuming  public? 

Table  95. — 'Average  Number  of  Microorganisms  of  136  Churn- 
ings  of  Raw  and  Pasteurized  Cream  and  Per  Cent 
Reduction   Due  to  Pasteurization.1 


Types  of  Germs 

Raw  Cream 
Germs 
per  c.c. 

Pasteurized    Cream 

145°  F.  20  Min. 

185°  F.  Flash 

Germs 
per 
c.c. 

De- 
crease 
% 

Germs 
per 
c.c. 

De- 
crease 

% 

Total   Count  

209,714,285 
123,985,714 
16,182,854 
4,032,000 

113,574 
42,928 
3,035 
2,201 

99.95 
99.97 
99.98 
99.95 

1,416,029 
837,357 
81,429 
16,782 

99.33 
99.33 
99.49 
99.58 

Acidifiers    

Liquefiers        .... 

Yeast  and  Molds. 

So  far  as  the  writer  is  able  to  determine  there  are  no  cases 
on  record  which  show  that  any  of  these  diseases  were  trans- 
ferred to  man  through  the  medium  of  butter.  On  the  other 
hand,  experimental  data  of  considerable  magnitude  are  recorded, 
which  unmistakably  show  that  cream  produced  either  by 
gravity  creaming  or  by  centrifugal  separation  of  milk  infected 
with  Bacillus  tuberculosis,  also  contains  this  organism  and  that 
butter  made  from  such  cream,  when  inoculated  into  guinea  pigs 
produced  the  disease  and  caused  the  animals  to  die  from  gener- 
alized tuberculosis. 

Thus  Moore2  showed  that  when  milk  containing  tubercle 
bacilli  is  separated  by  centrifugal  force,  both  the  skim  milk 
and  the  cream  harbored  these  bacilli.  Inoculation  of  the  skim 
milk  and  cream,  respectively,  into  guinea  pigs  caused  them  to 
die  with  the  disease  in  24  to  60  days.  Burri  and  Griflinger3 
demonstrated  that  the  products  of  tubercle-infected  whey,  sepa- 
rated by  centrifugal  force  for  the  purpose  of  making  whey  butter, 

lHunziker,  Spitzer  and  Mills,  The  Pasteurization  of  Sour,  Farm- 
Skimmed  Cream  for  Butter  Making,  Purdue  Bulletin  203,  1917. 

2  Moore,  Inefficiency  of  Milk  Separators  in  Removing  Bacteria,  U.  S. 
Dept.  of  Agriculture,  Yearbook,  1895. 

*  Burri  and  Griflinger,  Die  Gefahr  der  Ausbreitung  der  Tuberkulose 
unter  den  Schweinen  infolge  der  Verftttterung  nleht  erhitzter  Zentrifugen- 
molke,  Landw.,  Jahrbuch  der  Schweiz,  1915. 


OF  BUTTER  563 

caused  tuberculosis  in  guinea  pigs.  Schroeder1  reports  that 
when  cream  is  separated  from  milk  infected  with  Bacillus  tuber- 
culosis, either  by  gravity  or  by  centrifugal  force,  it  also  con- 
tains these  germs,  and  that  butter  made  from  such  cream  con- 
tains the  tubercle  bacillus  as  determined  by  testing  it  with  guinea 
pig  inoculation.  Broers2  found  that  tubercle  bacilli  will  live  three 
days  in  milk,  even  when  it  has  undergone  changes  that  make  it 
unfit  for  use  as  food,  and  twelve  days  in  buttermilk,  and  that 
they  remain  virulent  three  weeks  in  butter.  Cornet8  reports  that 
Laser  could  find  no  live  bacilli  in  butter  after  twelve  days,  that 
Heine  records  that  all  tubercle  bacilli  eventually  die  in  butter 
and  that  their  maximum  life  in  it  is  thirty  days,  that  Gasperini 
found  a  reduction  of  virulence  after  thirty  days,  though  the 
bacilli  were  still  alive  after  120  days,  and  that  Dawson  did  not 
observe  a  reduction  of  virulence  until  after  the  passage  of  three 
months,  and  claims  to  have  produced  tuberculosis  in  a  guinea 
pig  by  inoculating  it  with  butter  eight  months  old.  Schroeder 
and  Cotton4  state  that  living  tubercle  bacilli  will  retain  their 
infective  properties  for  at  least  160  days  in  salted  butter  when 
kept  without  ice  in  a  house  cellar.  They  fed  over  60  guinea 
pigs,  from  time  to  time  up  to  100  days,  with  butter  from  a  cow 
infected  with  tuberculosis.  With  the  exception  of  five  that  died 
prematurely,  and  one  that  was  killed,  all  died  with  generalized 
tuberculosis.  Swithinbank  and  Newman5  tested  498  samples  of 
market  butter  (in  England)  and  found  76  samples  or  15.2  per 
cent  to  contain  tubercle  bacilli.  Schroeder1  states  that  since  salt 
has  distinct  though  weak  germicidal  properties,  tubercle  bacilli 
in  heavily  salted  butter  may  live  only  a  short  time,  while  in 
unsalted  butter  they  may  live  and  remain  virulent  indefinitely. 
No  appreciable  attenuation  of  tubercle  bacilli  occurs  in  ordinary 
salted  butter  in  49  days,  even  though  the  butter  has  become 
rancid  and  moldy.  They  are  still  alive  and  capable  of  causing 
rapidly  fatal  tuberculosis  in  guinea  pigs  after  133  days.  Mohler 
showed  that  153  days  is  not  long  enough  to  kill  them  in  butter 
held  in  cold  storage  under  ordinary  commercial  conditions,  and 

1  Schroeder,    Milk   and   Its   Products   as    Carriers   of   Tuberculosis   Infec- 
tion, U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.  B.  A.  I.  Circular  143,   1909. 

2  Broers,  Zeitschrift  fuer  Tuberkulose,  Vol.  10.     No.  3,  1907. 

»  Cornet,  Die  Tuberkulose,  Second  Edition,  Vol.  1,  1907,  pp.  122-123. 
4  Schroeder    and    Cotton,    The     Relation     of     the     Tuberculous     Cow     to 
Public  Health,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  B.  A.  I.  Circular  153. 

6  Swithinbank  and  Newman,  Bacteriology  of  Milk,  1903,  p.  221. 


564  HEAi/THtfuivNEss  OF  BUTTER 

Mohler,  Washburn  and  Rogers1  further  state  that  constant 
storage  in  an  icy  temperature  does  not  destroy  the  virulence  of 
butter  which  contains  dangerous  tubercle  bacilli  and  that  no  de- 
pendence should  be  placed  on  the  action  of  the  salt  that  is  added 
to  butter,  as  an  agent  in  the  destruction  of  tubercle  bacilli,  the 
action  being  very  slight  at  best.  The  bacilli  retained  virulence  in 
salted  butter  for  six  months. 

The  findings  quoted  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  show  con- 
siderable variations  in  the  length  of  time  butter  infected  with 
Bacillus  tuberculosis  retains  virulent  bacilli.  However,  this 
evidence  shows  conclusively  that  butter  made  from  tubercle-in- 
fected milk  or  cream  harbors  these  bacilli  and  is  capable  of 
spreading  the  disease.  It  further  shows  that  neither  does  the 
separation  of  the  milk  by  centrifugal  force  insure  freedom  of 
these  bacilli  in  the  cream  nor  does  the  salt  in  butter  destroy 
their  virulence. 

Fortunately  the  tubercle  bacilli,  as  well  as  the  germs  and 
viruses  of  other  common  milk-borne  diseases  infectious  to  man, 
such  as  those  of  foot  and  mouth  disease,  typhoid  fever,  diphtheria, 
scarlatina,  dysentery,  septic  sore  throat,  are  readily  destroyed 
by  pasteurization  of  the  milk  or  cream  and  all  butter  made  from 
properly  pasteurized  milk  or  cream  may  safely  be  considered 
free  from  the  germs  or  viruses  of  these  diseases.  Thus  Rosenau2 
as  the  result  of  his  own  extensive  investigations,  and  summariz- 
ing the  work  of  other  investigators  of  acknowledged  authority 
states  that  it  is  justifiable  to  assume  that  ordinary  market  milk 
pasteurized  by  heating  to  60°  C.  (140°  F.)  for  20  minutes,  would 
be  safe  for  human  use  by  mouth  so  far  as  tubercle  bacilli  are 
concerned,  that  the  virus  of  foot  and  mouth  disease  is  killed 
with  certainty  at  a  temperature  of  60°  C.  for  twenty  minutes, 
that  milk  heated  to  60°  C.  for  two  minutes  destroys  the  typhoid 
fever  germs,  that  the  diphtheria  bacillus  and  the  cholera  vibrio 
"die  at  comparatively  low  temperatures  (55  to  60°  C.),  that  the 
dysentery  bacillus  is  killed  at  60°  C.  in  ten  minutes,  that  the 
infective  principle  of  Malta  fever,  M.  Melitensis,  is  destroyed  at 
60°  C.  and  that  a  temperature  of  60°  C.  for  twenty  minutes  is 

1  Mohler,    Washburn    and   Rogers,    The    Viability    of   Tubercle    Bacilli    in 
Butter.    U.    S.    Dept.    of    Agr.    B.    A,    I.    Twentieth    Annual    Report,    1909, 
pp.   179-185. 

2  Rosenau,  The  Milk  Question,  1912. 


HEALTHFULNESS  OF  BUTTER  565 

sufficient  to  destroy  the  virus  of  scarlet  fever,  streptococci  and 
other  pathogenic  organisms.  He  therefore  concludes  that  milk 
heated  to  60°  C.  and  maintained  at  that  temperature  for  twenty 
minutes  may  be  considered  safe  so  far  as  conveying  disease  with 
the  micro-organisms  tested  is  concerned.  Schroeder1  states  that 
the  minimum  effective  temperature  of  pasteurization  that  will 
destroy  the  non-spore  bearing  disease  germs  is  60°  C.  for  twenty 
minutes.  Mohler,  Washburn  and  Rogers2  recommend  heating 
the  cream  to  60°  C.  for  twenty  minutes  or  to  80°  C.  momen- 
tarily, as  a  reliable  means  to  effectually  destroy  all  the  tubercle 
bacilli  that  may  have  found  lodgement  in  it.  Marshall3  holds 
that  milk  should  be  heated  to  85°  C.  (185°  F.)  momentarily  in 
order  to  insure  freedom  from  tubercle  bacilli.  Ayres4  reports 
that  such  disease  producing  bacteria  as  Bacillus  tuberculosis, 
Bacillus  typhosus,  Bacillus  diphtheria  and  the  dysentery  bacillus 
are  destroyed  when  heated  to  140°  F.  for  twenty  minutes  and 
that  the  same  process  safeguards  the  public  against  the  virus  of 
scarlet  fever.  Dr.  H.  D.  Pease,5  Director  of  the  Lederle  Labora- 
tories, New  York  City,  who  conducted  an  extensive  investigation 
on  the  efficiency  of  the  holding  process  of  pasteurization  to  de- 
stroy the  germs  of  tuberculosis,  typhoid  fever  and  diphtheria  in 
milk,  found  that  the  use  of  temperatures  from  142°  to  147°  F.  for 
a  fraction  of  a  minute  and  the  additional  holding  of  the  heated 
milk  for  thirty  minutes,  at  temperatures  ranging  from  143°  to 
145°  F.  is  sufficient  to  insure  the  total  destruction  of  these 
germs,  even  when  present  in  milk  in  large  numbers.  His  experi- 
ments were  made  with  commercial  equipment,  under  strictly 
commercial  conditions  and  with  milk  heavily  inoculated  with 
these  disease  germs. 

In  Denmark  the  pasteurization  of  cream  for  buttermaking 
at  82°  C.  to  85°  C.  (180°  F.  to  185°  F.)  is  compulsory. 

These  citations  may  suffifce  to  conclusively  show  that,  since 
the  milk  and  cream  from  which  butter  is  made,  may  be  and 
frequently  are  contaminated  with  germs  of  infectious  disease, 

1  Schroeder,    The   Relation    of   the    Tuberculous    Cow    to    Public   Health, 
U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  B.  A.  I.  Circular  153,  1910 

2  Mohler,   Washburn    and   Rog-ers,   The  Viability   of  Tubercle   Bacilli   In 
Butter,  U.   S.   Dept.  Agr.   Twenty-sixth  Annual   Report.  B.   A.   I.,   1909. 

3  Marshall,  Tuberculosis  and  Its  Management,  Mich.  Bull.  184,   1900. 

*  Ayres,  The  Pasteurization  of  Milk,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  B.  A.  I.  Circular 
184,  1912. 

5  Pease,  Pasteurization  Experiments,  Lederle  Laboratories,  N.  Y.  City, 
1915.  Results  not  published. 


566  FOOD  VALUE  OF  BUTTER 

both  bovine  and  human,  and  since  these  disease  germs  are 
able  to  pass  from  infected  milk  and  cream  to  the  butter,  and 
maintain  their  virulence  in  butter  for  a  considerable  length  of 
time,  regardless  of  salt  content  and  low  storage  temperature 
of  the  butter,  the  public  welfare  demands  that  milk  and  cream 
used  for  buttermaking  should  be  pasteurized.  They  further 
clearly  indicate  that  the  temperature  to  which  the  milk  or  cream 
should  be  heated,  and  the  time  of  exposure  necessary  to  destroy 
all  non-spore  bearing  disease  germs  should  be,  for  the  holding 
process,  not  less  than  145°  F.  for  at  least  twenty  and  preferably 
thirty  minutes,  and  for  the  flash  process  not  less  than  180°  F. 
momentarily. 

In  some  states  the  pasteurization  of  cream  for  buttermak- 
ing is  compulsory,  and  the  result  of  recent  investigations  indi- 
cates that  the  great  bulk,  approximately  90%  of  all  butter  made 
in  American  creameries  is  manufactured  from  pasteurized  cream. 
The  processes  of  pasteurization  used  in  the  creameries  are  largely 
those  above  prescribed  or  their  equivalent,  so  that  it  is  reason- 
able to  state  that  by  far  the  majority  of  American  factory-made 
butter  that  enters  state  and  interstate  commerce  may  be  con- 
sidered safe  from  the  standpoint  of  its  freedom  from  virulent 
disease  germs  and  viruses. 

Most  of  the  farm  dairy  butter,  however,  is  made  from  raw 
cream.  If  the  cream  from  which  it  is  made  is  free  from  disease 
germs  it  is  obviously  equally  safe  as  the  creamery  butter,  but 
similar  to  farm-peddled  milk,  which  is  rarely  pasteurized,  so 
does  farm  butter  offer  no  guarantee  as  to  its  safety  to  the  con- 
suming public. 

Digestibility  and  Caloric  Value  of  Butter. 

Digestibility. — The  digestibility  of  butter,  based  on  the 
completeness  of  its  utilization,  or  on  its  losses  in  digestion,  is 
very  high,  similar  to  that  of  products  containing  other  fats  in 
about  the  same  proportion.  Thus  Luhrig  found  the  coefficient 
of  digestibility  to  be  97.86  per  cent  for  butter  and  97.55  per  cent 
for  oleomargarine. 

The  coefficient  of  digestibility  of  butterfat,  or  the  percentage 
consumed  that  is  assimilated,  as  determined  by  various  investi- 
gators, and  assembled  by  Langworthy  and  Holmes,  is  as  follows : 


FOOD  VALUE  OF  BUTTER  567 

Table  96. 

Fat  Fat  Assimilated 

Assimilated  Investigator                            Per  Cent 

Investigator         Per  Cent         Huldgren  &  Landergren5 95.4 

Rubner1    96.3         Luhrig6   96.0 

Rubner1   97.3         Luhrig6    97.0 

Malfatti2    97.7         Wibbins  and   Huizenga7 97.3 

Mayer8   98.0         Wibbins  and   Huizenga7 96.5 

Mayer3   97.0        Von  Gerlach8 97.0 

Bertarelli4    94.0  Langworthy  and  Holmes9.. .  .97.0 

Langworthy  and  Holmes*  show  the  following  comparative 
coefficients  of  digestibility,  with  allowance  for  metabolic  products, 
for  butterfats,  animal  fats  and  vegetable  fats : 

Table  97. 

Coefficient  of  Digestibility 

Kind  of  Fat                                                     Per  Cent 
Butterfat 97.0 

Animal  fats: 

Lard   97.0 

Chicken  fat 96.7 

Goose  fat 95.2 

Fish  fat 95.2 

Egg  yolk  fat 93.8 

Beef  fat 93.0 

Mutton  fat  ..  ..88.0 


1  Rubner,  Zeitschrift  fur  Biologie,  Vol.  15.  No.  1,  1879,  and  Vol.  16, 
No.  1,  1880. 

2Malfetti.    Sitzber,    K.    Akad.    Wiss.    etc.,   Vol.   Ill,   No.    5.    1884. 

3  Landwirtschaftl.    Versuch.    Station,    Vol.    29,    1883. 

*  Bertarelli,  Riv.  Ig.  e.  Sanit.  Pub.  Vol.  9,  Nos.  14  and  15,  1898. 

5  Huldgren  and  Landergren,  Skand.  Arch.  Physiol.  Vol.  2,  Nos.  4  and  5, 
1890. 

9  Luhrig  Zeitschift  fur  Untersuch.  Nahr.  u.  Genussmittel,  Vol.  2,  Nos.  6 
and  10,  1899. 

T  Wibbins  and  Huizenga,  Pfluger's  Arch.  Phy'siologie,  Vol.  83,  Nos.  10, 
11,  12,  1901. 

8  Von   Gerlach,   Zeitschrift  Phys.   u.   Diatet.  Vol.   12,  No.   2,   190&. 

9  Langworthy  and  Holmes,  U.   S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bull.   507,  1917. 
•Langworthy  and  Holmes,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bulletin  310,  1915;  Bulletin 

505,  1917;  Bulletin  510,  1917. 


568  FOOD  VALUE  OF  BUTTER 

Table  97.— (Continued). 
Vegetable  fats: 

Peanut  oil 98.3 

Sesame  oil 98.0 

Cocoanut  oil 97.9 

Olive  oil  97.8 

Cottonseed  oil  97.8 

Cocoa  butter   94.9 

On  the  basis  of  digestibility,  however,  butter  is  probably 
superior  to  most  other  fats.  Sherman1  points  out  that  the  fats 
generally  retard  the  secretion  of  the  gastric  juice  and  tend  to 
make  the  food  stay  longer  in  the  stomach,  and  that  to  the  ex- 
tent that  the  ease  of  digestion  is  inferred  from  the  rapidity  with 
which  a  meal  passes  through  the  stomach  to  the  intestines,  the 
eating  of  fat  appears  to  retard  the  process,  this  being  true  to  a 
greater  extent,  the  higher  the  melting  point  of  the  fat.  Lang- 
worthy  and  Holmes  conclude  that  butterfat  may  be  considered 
more  completely  assimilated,  than  any  other  of  the  animal  fats 
which  they  considered  in  their  investigation.  This  statement 
refers  to  lard,  beef  fat  and  mutton  fat. 

Caloric  Value. — The  caloric  calue  of  butter  varies  with  its 
composition.  It  largely  depends  on  the  per  cent  of  fat  contained  in 
butter.  The  curd  content  is  fairly  uniform  and  is  usually  assumed 
to  be  about  1  per  cent. 

The  caloric  value  should  be  calculated  only  on  the  digestible 
nutrients.  The  coefficients  of  digestion  in  butter  average  about  94.1 
per  cent  for  the  curd,  or  protein,  and  97  per  cent  for  the  fat.  The 
digestible  nutrients  in  butter  with  varying  percentages  of  fat, 
then,  are  approximately  as  follows: 

1.x  94.1 
Protein 


100 

-\         r\i-i 

=       77.6% 


100 

'*          -        .941% 


82.5%     , 

82"i5^97       =    80.025% 

I*94-1  941% 

100  '° 

85%   -<  10° 

•S5*?7          =     82.45% 

1UU 
'Sherman  Food  Products,   1916,   P.   390. 


BIOLOGICAL  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 


569 


A  calorie  (large  calorie)  is  the  amount  of  heat  required  to 
raise  the  temperature  in  1,000  grams  of  water  1°  C.  The  caloric 
value  of  protein  is  4100,  and  that  of  fat  is  9300.  1,000  grams 
are  equal  to  2.2  pounds,  hence  the  caloric  value  of  one  pound  of 

protein  is    „  =  1863,  and  the  caloric  value  of  one  pound  of  fat 
9300 


is 


2.2 


=  4227. 


The  caloric  value  of  one  pound  of  butter  containing  80,  82.5  and 
85  per  cent  fat,  respectively*  therefore  is  as  follows : 


Butter  with 
80%  fat 

'£**            .          .941x1863      = 

18  Calories 
3,280 

C  1  %  protein               ^ 
)^f,t            77.6x4227      = 

100 
Total  calories 

3,298 

Butter  with 
82.5%  fat 

.941  x  1863      = 

18  Calories 
3,382 

/v  P                100 

1  8"K*fat        80.025x4227    = 

100 
Total  calories 

3,400 

Butter  with 

85%  fat 

.941  x  1863      = 

18   Calories 
3,485 
3,503 

i  /u  protein               -  QQ 
185%  fat          82.45x4227     = 

100 
Total  calories                   = 

Biological  Properties  of  Butter 

Butter  Contains  Growth-Promoting  and  Curative  Properties. 

— The  butterfat  of  butter  contains  certain  biological  properties, 
which  are  not  present  in  vegetable  fats,  nor  in  the  ordinary  ani- 
mal fats.  These  properties  are  absolutely  essential  for  an  ade- 
quate diet.  A  diet  that  is  lacking  in  these  biological  properties 
is  inadequate  to  produce  normal  growth  in  the  young,  it  pre- 
vents well  being  of  the  adult  and  gives  rise  to  certain  deficiency 
diseases. 

By  biological  properties  is  meant  those  properties,  recently 
discovered  by  McCollum1,  and  subjected  to  extensive  investiga- 

*  McCollum,  The  Newer  Knowledge  of  Nutrition,  1918. 


570 


BIOLOGICAL  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER 


tion  by  McCollum,  Hart,  Steenbock,  Fink,  Hopkins,  Osborne, 
Mendel  and  other  nutrition  experts  and  physiological  chemists,1 
which  have  to  do  with  the  life  functions  of  the  living  organism. 
These  properties  cannot  as  yet  be  determined  by  any  now  known 


TABLE  98    ' 

OF  NUTRIENTS  IN  A  POUND  OF  MILK  AS  COM- 
A  POUND  OF  MEAT,  BREAD  AND 


AMOUNTS 

PARED  WITH 

OTHER  FOOD  PRODUCTS.' 


Food   materials 

Ref- 
use 

Lbs. 

Edible  portion 

Fuel 
value 

CaL 

Nutrients 

Water 
Lb. 

Pro- 
tein 
Lb. 

Fat 
Lb. 

Car- 
bohy. 
drated 
Lb. 

Min. 
mat- 
ter 
Lb. 

Milk  (1  pint  or  1  pound)  : 
Whole  milk  
Skim    milk  (0.3  per  cent 
fat)    
Buttermilk   



0.87 

0.90 
0.91 

0.34 
0.11 

0.61 
0.69 
0.53 
0.50 
0.51 
0.43 

0.44 
0.35 
0.07 
0.48 

0.58 
0.40 
0.38 
0.88 
0.12 
0.13 
0.07 
0.35 
0.08 
0.13 
0.70 
0.67 
0.62 
0.62 

0.03 

0.04 
0.03 

0.26 
0.01 

0.18 
0.19 
0.16 
0.14 
0.15 
0.13 

0.14 
0.13 
0.02 
0.15 

0.11 
0.16 
0.17 
0.06 
0.11 
0.09 
0.16 
0.10 
0.11 
0.22 
0.01 
0.02 
0.01 
0.01 

0.04 
6.0*1 

0.34 
0.85 

0.12 
0.11 
0.17 
0.16 
0.17 
0.24 

0.25 
0.34 
0.87 
0.01 

0.05 

0.05 
0.05 

0.02 

0.01 

0.01 
0.01 

0.04 
0.03 

0.01 
0.01 
0.01 
0.01 
0.01 
0.01 

0.01 
0.04 
0.04 
0.01 

0.01 
0.19 
0.10 
0.01 
0.01 
0.01 
0.02 
O'.OI 
0.02 
0.04 
0.01 
0.01 
0.01 

325 

170 
165 

1965 
3605 

870 
835 
1040 
950 
1000 
1275 

1340 
1655 
3715 
325 

205 
315 
1050 
235 
1645 
1655 
1860 
1205 
1895 
1590 
170 
325 
135 
255 

Other  food  materials  (1  Ib. 
each)  : 
Cheese 

Butter 

Beef: 
Round   

0.08 

Shoulder  clod 

Sirloin   

0.13 
0.19 
0.16 
0.19 

0.16 
0.14 

6.3*5 

0.30 
0.25 
0.23 

Fore  quarters  

Hind   quarters   
Mutton,  side 

Pork: 
Loin  . 

Ham    

Salt,   fat   

Chicken    

Codfish: 
Fresh  

Salt    

Mackerel,    salt    
Oysters,    solids    

0.17 
0.02 
0.01 
0.02 
0.07 
0.01 
0.10 
0.02 

6.03* 
0.75 
0.75 
0.68 
0.53 
0.69 
0.59 
0.08 
0.15 
0.06 
0.12  1 

Wheat   flour   

Corn  meal  .    . 

... 

Oatmeal    

Wheat   bread    . 

Crackers   

6.20 
0.15 
0.30 
0.25 

Dried   beans   

Beets   

Potatoes    .. 

Turnips    . 

Apples    j 

1  M-cCollum,  The  Newer  Knowledge  of  Nutrition,  1918. 
z  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  74. 


BIOI,OGICAI,  PROPERTIES  OF  BUTTER  571 

method  of  chemical  analysis,  their  presence  has  only  become 
recognized  by  means  of  experimental  feeding  trials  with  young 
animals. 

These  feeding  trials,  largely  though  not  exclusively  con- 
ducted with  young  white  rats,  showed  that  when  the  animals 
were  put  on  an  artificial  diet,  containing  all  the  chemical  ele- 
ments necessary  for  nutrition,  both  for  maintenance  and  for 
growth,  such  as  protein,  carbohydrates,  fats  and  mineral  salts, 
but  in  which  the  fat  part  of  the  ration  consisted  of  a  vegetable 
oil  or  of  lard,  the  rats  would  after  a  brief  period  cease  to  grow, 
so  that  they  rarely  attained  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  normal 
growth  of  fully  grown  rats.  As  this  diet  was  continued  they 
would  lose  weight  and  gradually  develop  sore  eyes  which  culmi- 
nated in  blindness  and  ultimate  death  of  the  rats.  When,  before 
the  death  of  the  rats,  a  portion  of  the  animal  or  vegetable  fat  in 
the  ration  was  replaced  by  butter  or  butterfat,  they  recovered 
from  their  disease,  gained  in  weight  and  resumed  their  normal 
growth. 

Fat-Soluble  A. — Further  experiments  in  which  the  pure 
butterfat  was  separated  from  the  butter,  and  the  butterfat  in- 
stead of  the  butter  was  used  to  replace  a  part  of  the  lard  in  the 
feed  ration,  yielded  identically  the  same  results  as  in  the  case 
of  butter,  showing  therefore  that  this  growth-promoting  and 
curative  property  of  the  butter  is  located  in  the  butterfat. 
Being  soluble  in  the  butterfat,  McCollum  gave  this  unknown 
substance  the  name  fat-soluble  A. 

Fat-Soluble  A  Present  in  Liquid  Portion  of  Butterfat.— 
Osborne  and  Mendel  succeeded  in  concentrating  the  fat-solu- 
ble A  substance  contained  in  butterfat  by  .fractional  crystalliza- 
tion of  the  fat  from  alcohol.  They  found  that  the  fat-soluble  A 
substance  remains  in  .the  mother  liquor,  or  oily  portions,  those 
portions  which  have  a  low  melting  point,  while  the  other  por- 
tions, those  that  have  a  high  melting  point,  proved  entirely 
ineffective.  This  fact  assists  in  explaining  why  beef  fat,  which 
also  contains  small  quantities  of  this  substance,  is  much  less 
effective  in  its  growth  promoting  powers  than  the  butterfat.  The 
liquid  portion  in  the  beef  fat  is  relatively  small. 

Fat-Soluble  A  Not  Affected  by  Pasteurization,  Neutraliza- 
tion or  Age. — Additional  experiments  showed  that  the  fat-soluble 


572  BIOI,OGICAI,  PROPERTIES  o$  BUTTER 

A  substance  is  of  a  stable  nature,  and  that  it  is  neither  destroyed, 
nor  its  growth-promoting  and  curative  effect  lessened  by  heat, 
saponification,  or  age. 

Butterfat  boiled  with  live  steam  for  several  hours  did  not 
lose  its  biological  properties.  This  is  important,  because  it 
demonstrates  conclusively,  that  the  pasteurization  of  cream  does 
not  rob  the  resulting  butter  of  its  growth-promoting  and  cur- 
ative properties.  Pasteurized  cream  butter  is  equally  valuable 
therefore  from  the  dietary  standpoint  as  raw  cream  butter. 

Butterfat  or  butter  when  completely  saponified  into  a  soap, 
by  admixture  of  alkali  in  excess,  fully  retains  its  growth-pro- 
moting and  curative  properties.  Butter  soap  so  made,  when 
fed  to  the  rats  had  the  same  biological  effect  as  normal  butter 
or  pure  butterfat.  This  fact  is  important  because  it  removes 
every  vestige  of  doubt  that  the  reduction  of  the  acid  in  sour 
cream  by  the  use  of  an  alkali,  as  practiced  in  so-called  neutral- 
ization of  sour  cream,  in  no  way  destroys  or  weakens  the 
growth-promoting  and  curative  properties  of  butter.  Butter 
made  from  sour  cream  that  has  been  neutralized,  has  equal 
dietary  value  as  butter  made  from  cream  that  was  not  neutral- 
ized. 

Age  does  not  change  the  biological  value  of  butter.  The 
changes  which  butter  undergoes  in  storage  fail  to  deprive  it 
of  its  growth-promoting  and  curative  effect.  Butterfat  held  in 
the  cold  and  at  room  temperature,  in  the  light  and  in  the  dark, 
for  ten  months,  when  subsequently  fed  to  rats  which  had 
ceased  to  grow  and  had  developed  the  characteristic  sore  eyes, 
as  the  result  of  the  absence  in  their  diet  of  the  fat-soluble  A, 
brought  about  resumption  of  growth  to  normal  stature,  and 
recovery  and  healing  of  the  eyes.  The  biological  potency  in  all 
samples  of  butterfat  held  in  storage  was  retained  and  was  equal 
to  that  of  fresh  butter  or  fresh  butterfat.  This  fact  is  impor- 
tant, because  it  furnishes  indisputable  proof  that  storage  butter, 
relative  to  biological  properties,  is  equally  wholesome  as  fresh 
butter. 

Other  Sources  of  Fat-Soluble  A. — The  only  substances  in 
which  the  fat-soluble  A  has  been  found,  other  than  butter  and 
butterfat,  are  the  fat  contained  in  the  yolk  of  the  egg,  cod  liver 
oil,  leaves  of  plants  and  the  fat  of  the  vital  organs. 


DEFINITIONS  AND  STANDARDS  OF  BUTTER  573 

So-called  Butter  Substitutes  Cannot  Take  the  Place  of  But- 
ter.— This  discussion  makes  it  clear  that  there  is  no  substitute 
for  butter.  So-called  butter  substitutes,  all  of  which  are  largely 
made  up  of  vegetable  or  animal  fats,  or  both,  cannot  take  the 
place  of  butter.  They  may  have  equal,  or  nearly  equal,  caloric 
value  as  butter,  but  they  lack  this  most  important  property,  the 
fat-soluble  A,  without  which'  the  diet  is  not  complete.  Their 
substitution  for  butter  in  the  diet  of  the  family  is  jeopardizing 
the  well  being,  vitality  and  maximum  mental  and  physical  de- 
velopment and  vigor  of  the  child,  and  to  that  extent  limits 
the  future  greatness  of  the  nation. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

DEFINITIONS  AND  STANDARDS  OF  BUTTER,  MILK, 
CREAM,  SKIM  MILK  AND  BUTTERMILK 

Butter. — Butter  manufactured  in  the  United  States  is  sub- 
ject to  two  standards  and  definitions ;  the  control  of  enforcement 
of  each  is  vested  in  two  separate  and  distinct  institutions. 

One  standard  and  definition  deals  with  the  maximum  per 
cent  moisture  which  by  a  ruling  of  the  Internal  Revenue  De- 
partment was  placed  below  16  per  cent.  The  other  deals  with 
the  minimum  per  cent  of  fat  which  by  a  ruling  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture  was  placed  at  82.5  per  cent. 

The  Moisture  Standard. — The  moisture  standard  is  based 
on  the  definition  of  butter  by  Act  of  Congress  August  2,  1886, 
which  reads  as  follows: 

"The  food  product  usually  known  as  butter,  which  is  made 
exclusively  from  milk  or  cream,  or  both,  with  or  without  com- 
mon salt  and  with  or  without  additional  coloring  matter," 
and  by  Act  of  Congress  of  May  9,  1902,  which  reads  as  follows : 

"That  for  the  purpose  of  this  act  'butter'  is  hereby  de- 
fined to  mean  an  article  of  food  as  defined  in  'An  Act  defining 
butter/  also  imposing  a  tax  upon  and  regulating  the  manufac- 
ture, sale,  importation,  and  exportation  of  oleomargarine,  ap- 
proved August  2,  1886;  that  adulterated  butter  is  hereby  de- 
fined to  mean  a  grade  of  butter  produced,  by  mixing,  reworking, 
rechurning  in  milk  or  cream,  refining  or  in  any  way  producing  a 
uniform,  purified  or  improved  product  from  different  lots  or 
parcels  of  melted  or  unmelted  butter  or  butterfat,  in  which  any 


574  DEFINITIONS   AND   STANDARDS   OF   BuTTER 

acid,  alkali,  chemical,  or  any  substance  whatever  is  introduced 
or  used  for  the  purpose  or  with  the  effect  of  deodorizing  or 
removing  thereform  rancidity,  or  any  butter  or  butterfat  with 
which  there  is  mixed  any  substance  foreign  to  butter  as  herein 
defined,  with  intent  or  effect  of  cheapening  in  cost  the  product, 
or  any  butter  in  the  manufacture  or  manipulation  of  which  any 
process  or  material  is  used  with  intent  or  effect  of  causing  the 
absorption  of  abnormal  quantities  of  water,  milk  or  cream ;  that 
'process  butter'  or  'renovated  butter'  is  hereby  defined  to  mean 
butter  which  has  been  subjected  to  any  process  by  which  it  is 
melted,  clarified,  or  refined  and  made  to  resemble  genuine  but- 
ter, always  excepting  'adulterated  butter*  as  defined  by  this  act." 

In  defining  adulterated  butter  as  distinguished  from  butter, 
the  Internal  Revenue  Department  offers  the  following  explan- 
ation and  makes  the  following  ruling: 

"The  definition  of  adulterated  butter  as  contained  in  the 
Act  of  May  9,  1902,  embraces  butter  in  the  manufacture  of  which 
any  process  or  material  is  used  whereby  the  product  is  made 
to  contain  abnormal  quantities  of  water,  milk  or  cream,  but  the 
normal  content  of  moisture  permissible  is  not  fixed  by  the  act. 
This  being  the  case  it  becomes  necessary  to  adopt  a  standard  for 
moisture  in  butter,  which  shall  in  effect  represent  the  normal 
quantity.  It  is  therefore  held  that  butter  having  16  per  cent 
or  more  of  moisture,  contains  an  abnormal  quantity  and  is 
classed  as  adulterated  butter." 

This  law  and  ruling  is  now  in  force.  It  makes  unlawful  the 
incorporation  in  butter  of  16  per  cent  or  more,  of  moisture,  and  its 
interpretation  also  makes  unlawful  the  incorporation  of  extran- 
eous curd  by  working  curd  into  the  butter  in  the  churn  in  the 
form  of  starter,  casein  or  skim  milk  powder. 

The  Fat  Standard.— The  fat  standard  is  a  part  of  the  Federal 
Standards  and  Definition  for  Dairy  Products,  accompanying  the 
passage  of  the  Federal  Food  and  Drugs  Act  June  30,  1906  and 
which  became  effective  January  1,  1907.1  It  reads  as  follows: 

"Butter  is  the  clean,  non-rancid  product  made  by  gathering, 
in  any  manner,  the  fat  of  fresh  or  ripened  milk  or  cream  into  a 
mass,  which  also  contains  a  small  portion  of  the  other  milk  con- 
stituents, with  or  without  salt,  and  contains  not  less  than  eighty- 
standards  of  Purity  for  Pood  Products.  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture, 
Circular  No.  19,  1906. 


DEFINITIONS   AND    STANDARDS   OF   BUTTER  575 

two  and  five  tenths  (82.5)  per  cent,  of  milk  fat.  By  act  of 
Congress  approved  August  2,  1886,  and  May  9,  1902,  butter 
may  also  contain  added  coloring  matter." 

This  standard  has  never  been  and  is  not  now  enforced. 

Within  recent  years  the  Federal  Joint  Committee  on  Defi- 
nitions and  Standards  for  Food  Products  has  had  under  advise- 
ment a  revision  of  this  butter  standard  and  definition.  This 
joint  committee  consists  of  three  members  each,  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  the  American  Association  of  Offi- 
cial Agricultural  Chemists  and  the  Association  of  American 
Dairy,  Food,  and  Drug  Officials,  under  the  chairmanship  of  the 
chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry.  At  the  time  of  the  comple- 
tion of  this  manuscript,  no  decision  had  as  yet  been  reached.1'2-8'4 

Numerous  states  have  definitions  and  standards  for  butter, 
most  of  them  similar  to  the  standard  adopted  by  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture  as  per  circular  No.  19.  Few 
states  have  standards  differing  slightly  from  the  above  stan- 
dard. The  State  of  Minnesota,5  by  Act  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture 1915,  amended  its  section  relating  to  the  use  of  preserva- 
tives as  follows: 

"Dairy  Products — Preservatives.  Sec.  1756.  No  person 
shall  manufacture  for  sale,  advertise  or  sell,  any  mixture  or 
compound  designed,  or  offered  for  sale  or  use,  as  an  adulterant, 
preservative  or  renovator  of  milk,  cream,  butter  or  cheese,  or  as 
a  neutralizer  of  the  acidity  of  milk,  cream,  butter  or  cheese ;  nor 
shall  any  person  add,  or  apply  to  milk,  cream,  butter  or  cheese, 
any  borax,  boric. acid,  salicylic  acid,  formaldehyde,  formalin  or 
other  anti-ferment  or  preservative,  nor  any  alcohol,  viscogen, 
lime,  salpeter,  sal-soda,  soda  ash,  or  other  neutralizer,  provided 
however,  that  this  section  shall  not  apply  to  pure  salt  added  to 
butter  or  cheese." 

The  above  section  makes  the  practice  of  reducing  the  acid- 
ity in  cream  unlawful  in  the  State  of  Minnesota. 

1Veeder.  McManus,  Jones  and  McCabe,  Attys.  for  Swift  &  Co.,  Sugges- 
tions for  a  Standard  for  Butter,  presented  to  the  Joint  Committee  on 
Definitions  and  Standards,  November,  1917. 

3Hunziker,  Butter  Standards.  Address  before  Joint  Committee  on  Defi- 
nitions and  Standards.  Chicago,  May,  1917. 

8  McKay.   Pacts   about  Butter,    Suggestions  for  a  Standard,   June,   1918. 

4  Hunziker,  Bouska,  Borman  and  McKay,  Statements  on  the  Subject 
of  Definitions  and  Standards  of  Butter,  Presented  to  the  Joint  Committee 
on  Definitions  and  Standards,  September,  1918. 

5  Farrell,  Manual  of  the  Dairy  and  Food  Laws,  Rules  and  Regulations, 
1915. 


576 


DEFINITIONS  AND  STANDARDS  OF  BUTTER 


Generally  speaking  the  state  standards  for  butter  are  not 
enforced.  The  only  butter  standard  that  is  systematically  en- 
forced is  the  16  per  cent  moisture  ruling  of  the  Internal  Revenue 
Department. 

The  following  list  shows  the  butter  standards  in  some  of  the 
foreign  countries,  compiled  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of 
Chemistry: 

TABLE  99 

BUTTER  STANDARDS  IN  VARIOUS  COUNTRIES. 
Compiled  By  and  Secured  Through  Courtesy  of  United  States  Bureau 

of  Chemistry,  1919. 


Countries 

Date 
of  Enact- 
ment of  Law 

Fat 
Minimum 

Per  Cent. 

Water 
Maximum 

Per  Cent 

Non-Fatty 
Milk  Con- 
stituents 
Maximum 

Per  Cent. 

Boron 
Com- 
pounds as 
Boric  Acid 
Maximum 
Per  Cent. 

Australia 

1902 

82 

16 

Belgium 

1900 

181 

Brazil 

1915 

80 

Canada 

1910 

82.5 

16 

Cuba 

1914 

15 

Denmark 

1911 

Domestic 

202 

Export 

16 

Germany 

1902 

Salted 

80 

16 

1   * 

Unsalted 

80 

18 

M 

Great  Britain 

1902 

Genuine 

16 

i  , 

Milk-Bl'ded 

24 

J.5 

Italy 

1890 

82 

Netherlands 

1909 

80 

New  Zealand 

1913 

80 

16 

Queensland 

1902 

83 

19063 

80 

16 

.5 

Roumania 

1895 

82 

14 

Spain 

1908 

16 

Sweden 

1911 

16 

Switzerland 

1914 

82 

United  States 

19024 

16 

19065 

82.5 

Venzuela 

1916 

80-88 

10-15 

)  Salt  2-10 

|  CVn  1-3 

Victoria 

19066 

80 

15 

West.   A'str'lia 

1911-12 

82 

15 

1  Butter  which  contains  more  than  18  per  cent  non-fatty  constituents 
such  as  water,  milk  sugar,  casein,  must  be  sold  under  the  designation 
"beurre  laiteux"  (milky  butter). 

8  Butter  which  contains  over  16  per  cent  water,  but  less  than  20  per 
cent  water,  must  bear  the  designation  "water  butter"  (Vandsmeer). 

3  Allen's  Commercial  Organic  Analysis,  Fourth  Edition.  Vol.  II,  1914. 

*  Inforced  by  Internal  Revenue  Dept. 

5  Standard  of  United   States   Department   of   Agriculture,   not   enforced. 

•Allen's  Commercial  Organic  Analysis,  Fourth  Edition,  Vol.  II,  1914. 


DEFINITIONS  AND  STANDARDS  otf  MII<K  577 

MILK,  CREAM,  SKIMMILK  AND  BUTTERMILK 

On  April  17,  1919,  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  issued,  under 
Food  Inspection  Decision  1781,  the  following  definitions  and 
standards  for  milk,  cream,  skimmilk  and  buttermilk.  These 
definitions  and  standards  were  adopted  by  the  Joint  Committee 
on  Definitions  and  Standards  July  30,  1917,  and  were  approved 
by  the  Association  of  American  Dairy,  Food  and  Drug  Officials 
August  3,  1917,  and  by  the  Association  of  Official  Agricultural 
Chemists  November  21,  1917: 

"1.  Milk  is  the  whole,  fresh,  clean,  lacteal  secretion  ob- 
tained by  the  complete  milking  of  one  or  more  healthy  cows, 
properly  fed  and  kept,  excluding  that  obtained  within  fifteen 
days  before  and  five  days  after  calving,  or  such  longer  period 
as  may  be  necessary  to  render  the  milk  practically  colostrum- 
free. 

"2.  Skimmed  milk  is  milk  from  which  substantially  all  of 
the  milk  fat  has  been  removed. 

"3.  Cream,  sweet  cream,  is  that  portion  of  milk,  rich  in  milk 
fat,  which  rises  to  the  surface  of  milk  on  standing,  or  is  sep- 
arated from  it  by  centrifugal  force.  It  is  fresh  and  clean.  It 
contains  not  less  than  eighteen  per  cent  (18%)  of  milk  fat  and 
not  more  than  two-tenths  per  cent  (0.2%)  of  acid-reacting  sub- 
stances calculated  in  terms  of  lactic  acid. 

"4.  Whipping  cream  is  cream  which  contains  not  less 
than  thirty  per  cent  (30%)  of  milk  fat. 

"5.  Pasteurized  milk  is  milk  that  has  been  subjected  to 
a  temperature  not  lower  than  145  degrees  Fahrenheit  for  not 
less  than  thirty  minutes.  Unless  it  is  bottled  hot,  it  is  promptly 
cooled  to  50  degrees  Fahrenheit  or  lower. 

"6.  Buttermilk  is  the  product  that  remains  when  fat  is 
removed  from  milk  or  cream,  sweet  or  sour,  in  the  process  of 
churning.  It  contains  not  less  than  eight  and  five-tenths  per 
cent  (8.5%)  of  milk  solids,  not  fat. 

"7.  Homogenized  milk  or  homogenized  cream  is  milk  or 
cream  that  has  been  mechanically  treated  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
alter  its  physical  properties,  with  particular  reference  to  the 
condition  and  appearance  of  the  fat  globules." 

1Mllk   and    Cream,   TJ.    S.    Department   of   Agriculture,    Food   Inspection 
Decision  178,  April  17,  1919. 


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580  WHEY  BUTTER 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
WHEY  BUTTER 

Whey  butter  is  the  butter  manufactured  from  whey,  the  by- 
product of  the  cheese  factory.  Whey  contains  from  about  0.3 
per  cent  fat  in  the  case  of  American  cheddar  cheese  making, 
to  about  1  per  cent  in  the  case  of  Swiss  cheese  making. 

Since  the  invention  of  centrifugal  whey  separators,  it  is 
possible  to  skim  the  whey  very  exhaustively  and  there  is  no 
consistent  reason  why  the  butterfat  derived  from  the  whey  should 
not  produce  a  butter  equal  in  quality,  or  nearly  so,  to  that  of 
ordinary  creamery  butter,  provided  that  the  whey  is  skimmed 
promptly  after  it  leaves  the  cheese  vat,  or  cheese  kettle,  and 
that  the  whey  cream  is  promptly  and  properly  cooled  until 
churned  or  until  shipped.  Sammis1  recommends  that  the  sep- 
arator cream  screw  be  so  set  as  to  secure  a  whey  cream  con- 
taining from  50  to  75  per  cent  of  fat,  so  as  to  permit  the  addi- 
tion of  a  large  amount  of  starter  to  this  cream.  He  further 
recommends  that  on  the  evening  before  the  day  when  the  whey 
cream  is  to  be  churned  about  75  to  100  per  cent  of  a  good,  thick 
cold  starter  be  stirred  into  the  cream,  that  the  cream  be  churned 
at  50  degrees  F.  or  below,  that  the  churn  be  stopped  when  the 
granules  are  still  very  small  and  washed  with  water  at  a  tem- 
perature from  40  to  50  degrees  F.  These  precautions  are  rec- 
ommended in  order  to  facilitate  the  completeness  of  washing 
and  because  whey  butter  has  a  greater  tendency  than  ordinary 
butter  to  soften  on  warming. 

Sammis  states  that  buyers  of  whey  cream  for  churning 
often  pasteurize  it  when  received,  by  heating  it  rapidly  nearly 
to  boiling,  then  cooling  as  quickly  as  possible,  adding  starter 
and  churning  the  next  day. 

The  Federal  law  does  not  differentiate  between  whey  butter 
and  creamery  butter.  Whey  butter  is  subject  to  the  adulterated 
butter  ruling  which  provides  that  when  butter  contains  16  or 
more  per  cent  moisture  it  is  classed  as  adulterated  butter. 

The  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin  enacted  the  follow- 

1  Sammis,    Making-   Whey   Butter   at   Cheddar    Cheese    Factories.   Wise. 
Bulletin  246,  1915. 


RENOVATED  BUTTER  581 

ing  law  which  defines  whey  butter  and  provides  that  all  butter 
made  from  whey  shall  be  classed,  branded  and  sold  as  whey 
butter : 

Wisconsin  Whey  Butter  Law 

"Whey  Butter  Section  4707d-3.— No  person  shall  by  himself, 
his  agent  or  servant,  sell,  offer  or  expose  for  sale  or  have  in 
his  possession  with  intent  to  sell  or  exchange  or  deliver,  any 
butter,  manufactured  in  whole  or  in  part,  from  whey  cream, 
unless  such  butter  shall  have  the  words  'whey  butter*  conspic- 
uously stamped,  labeled,  or  marked  in  plain  Gothic  letters,  at 
least  three-eights  of  an  inch  square,  so  that  the  words  cannot 
be  easily  defaced,  upon  two  sides  of  each  and  every  tub,  firkin, 
box  or  package  containing  said  whey  butter;  or  if  such  butter 
is  exposed  for  sale  uncovered,  or  not  in  a  case  or  package,  a 
placard  containing  said  words  in  the  form  described  in  this 
section  shall  be  attached  to  the  mass  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be 
easily  seen  and  read  by  the  purchaser.  Any  person  who  violates 
any  of  the  provisions  of  this  section  shall  be  guilty  of  a  mis- 
demeanor and  upon  conviction  thereof,  shall  be  fined  not  less 
than  twenty-five  dollars  nor  more  than  one  hundred  dollars1/' 

RENOVATED  BUTTER 

Definition:  Renovated  butter,  or  process  butter,  is  a  prod- 
uct which  resembles  butter  and  which  is  made  from  one  or  more 
parcels  of  butter,  which  has  been  or  have  been  "subjected  to 
any  process  by  which  it  is  melted,  clarified  or  refined  and  made 
to  resemble  genuine  butter,  always  excepting  'adulterated  but- 
ter' as  defined  by  this  act."2 

In  order  for  butter  to  be  subject  to  this  definition,  it  must 
have  been  melted  or  reduced  to  a  fluid  oil,  the  melted  oil 
must  have  been  subjected  to  a  process  by  which  it  is  "clarified 
or  refined,"  which  may  be  done  by  skimming,  aerating,  washing 
and  other  processes,  through  the  action  of  heat,  cold,  agitation 
or  rest ;  and  this  melted  and  refined  oil  must  then  again  be  con- 
verted into  a  product  "to  resemble  genuine  butter,"  in  appear- 
ance, consistency,  texture  and  flavor.  This  last  requisite  is  ac- 
complished by  mixing  the  melted,  refined  oil  with  milk,  or 

1  Supplement    to    Wisconsin    Dairy    and    Food    Laws    of    August,    1913, 
issued  by  Geo.  J.  "Weigle,  Dairy  &  Food  Commissioner,  July.   1917. 

2  By  Act  of  Congress  approved  May  9,  1902. 


582  RENOVATED  BUTTER 

skimmilk,  or  buttermilk,  or  cream,  sweet  or  sour,  and  by  granu- 
lating the  mix  by  cooling.  Renovated  butter  may,  or  may  not 
have  added  to  it,  common  salt,  or  harmless  coloring  matter,  or 
both. 

Renovated  butter  is  usually  made  from  an  inferior  grade  of 
butter,  the  quality  of  which  is  such  that  the  butter  is  no  longer 
acceptable  to  the  trade  as  eatable  butter.  It  is  made  from  pack- 
ing stock. 

Development  of  the  Renovated  Butter  Industry. — The 
renovated  butter  industry  had  its  inception  in  the  presence  upon 
the  market,  of  butter  of  poor  quality,  that  could  neither  be  sold 
as  butter  nor  made  over  into  a  salable  quality  of  "ladles."  It 
had  to  undergo  processes  that  freed  it  from  its  obnoxious  odors 
and  flavors  of  which  rancidity  was  a  dominant  one,  before  it 
could  be  made  again  to  appeal  to  the  palate.  This  industry, 
therefore,  owes  its  existence  to  faulty  methods  of  manufacture 
and  of  storing  of  butter. 

The  renovated  butter  industry,  then,  is  the  result  of  efforts, 
on  the  part  of  the  dairymen,  butter  merchants  and  others,  to 
convert  the  surplus  of  poor  country  butter,  or  of  packing  stock, 
into  a  marketable  product.  The  bulk  of  dairy  butter  made 
during  the  summer  months  is  handled  by  the  country  store. 
For  a  considerable  portion  of  this  butter  the  country  store 
has  no  immediate  market.  The  butter  accumulates  and  owing  to 
its  inherent  poor  keeping  quality  and  the  usually  unfavorable 
conditions  to  which  it  is  exposed,  it  deteriorates  rapidly,  and  by 
fall  it  is  generally  of  very  poor  quality.  This  butter  is  a 
burden  to  the  store  keeper  and  a  drag  on  the  market. 

Before  the  days  of  renovated  butter,  the  only  reasonably 
profitable  method  of  handling  this  surplus  was  to  rework  the 
different  lots  together,  adding  salt  and  if  necessary,  color.  This 
gave  the  product  uniformity  of  body,  salt  and  color.  The  flavor 
however,  was  not  improved,  except  that  heavy  salting  assisted 
in  hiding  to  a  limited  extent  the  undesirable  flavors. 

In  the  early  eighties,  various  isolated  attempts  were  made 
to  free  this  butter  from  its  disagreeable  flavors.  Levi  Wells1 
states  that  "melting  butter  and  separating  the  fat  from  the 

1  Wells,  Renovated  Butter,  Its  Origin  and  History,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agri- 
culture, 1905. 


RENOVATED  BUTTER  583 

other  ingredients,  then  canning  the  fat  and  shipping  it  to  tropical 
countries  to  be  used  as  a  substitute  for  butter,  was  practiced  in 
some  sections  of  Europe  many  years  ago,  but  restoring  the  in- 
gredients extracted  and  again  converting  the  substance  into 
butter  is  an  American  invention." 

"Renovated  butter,"  began  to  appear  on  the  markets  of  this 
country  in  considerable  quantities  in  the  early  nineties.  It  was 
generally  quoted  and  sold  as  creamery  seconds.  Its  source  and 
mode  of  preparation  were  unknown  to  the  general  public.  Its 
keeping  quality  was  poor. 

"The  name  renovated  butter,  was  first  adopted  by  the  dairy 
and  food  commission  of  Pennsylvania,  1897,  it  being  considered 
appropriate  for  the  product  involved,  and  one  that  conveyed  to 
the  consumer  an  idea  of  its  nature. 

"In  1899  the  legislatures  of  several  states  enacted  laws  re- 
quiring this  product  to  be  labeled  and  sold  as  renovated  butter, 
and  on  May  9,  1902,  through  passage  of  the  Grout  bill,  a 
Federal  law  became  effective,  which  defined  this  product,  and 
required  its  manufacture  and  sale  under  the  name  Renovated 
Butter,  or  Process  Butter." 

Output  of  Renovated  Butter  in  the  United  States. — The 
manufacture  of  renovated  butter  during  the  early  years  of  this 
country  grew  rapidly  and  assumed  very  considerable  propor- 
tions. In  1905  there  were  in  operation  in  this  country,  accord- 
ing to  Wells,  78  renovated  butter  factories  with  an  investment 
of  nearly  $1,000,000.00.  The  total  production  during  that  year 
was  60,000,000  pounds  of  renovated  butter,  and  the  annual  out- 
put and  demand  for  the  better  grades  seemed  to  be  limited  only 
by  the  availability  of  the  packing  stock. 

Within  recent  years,  however,  the  output  of  renovated  but- 
ter has  been  on  the  decline,  largely  as  the  result  of  the  intro- 
duction and  more  general  use  of  the  farm  cream  separator, 
which  caused  more  butterfat  to  be  shipped  to  the  creamery  and 
less  to  be  made  into  butter  on  the  farm.  The  rapid  development 
of  the  creamery  industry  and  the  increased  demand  for  milk 
by  the  market  milk  plants,  milk  condenseries  and  ice  cream 
factories,  have  further  -reduced  the  annual  production  of  farm 
butter.  Less  farm  butter  is  made  every  year  and  this  means  less 
packing  stock  available  for  the  renovated  butter  factory.  If  the 


584  RENOVATED  BUTTER 

present  trend  of  the  butter  industry  may  be  accepted  as  a 
correct  criterion  of  the  future  of  the  renovated  butter  industry, 
it  may  be  consistently  assumed  that  the  days  of  the  renovated 
butter  industry  are  numbered,  and  that  it  will  continue  to  de- 
cline, for  the  best  interests  of  the  milk  and  cream  producer, 
who  cannot  afford  to  sell  the  product  of  the  dairy  cow  on  the 
basis  of  packing  stock  prices. 

Manufacture  of  Renovated  Butter — Quality  of  packing 
stock. — The  better  the  quality  of  the  packing  stock  the-  better 
will  be  the  quality  of  the  renovated  butter.  The  packing  stock, 
which  largely  consists  of  a  poor  grade  of  dairy  butter,  is 
gathered  up  by  the  renovated  butter  agents  from  country  stores 
in  all  parts  of  the  country  where  farm  butter  is  made.  It  is 
packed  in  barrels  and  tubs  and  placed  into  cold  storage  until 
ready  to  be  made  over  into  renovated  butter. 

Melting. — (The  barrels  and  tubs  of  packing  stock  are  emptied 
into  the  melting  tank,  which  is  a  tank  or  vat,  equipped  in  its 
bottom  with  a  series  of  coils  through  which  hot  water  is  passed. 
Jacketed  vats,  similar  to  cheese  vats,  are  also  used  for  this  pur- 
pose. In  these  vats  or  tanks,  the  butter  is  melted,  at  a  relatively 
low  temperature.  The  temperature  of  the  melted  fat  is  generally 
held  at  about  120  degrees  F.  or  below. 

Clarifying. — From  the  melting  vats  the  butter  oil  flows  into 
the  settling  tank,  which  is  usually  cylindrical  in  shape,  of  con- 
siderable depth  and  has  preferably  a  pointed  bottom.  Here  the 
butter  oil  remains  until  the  so-called  slush,  consisting  of  curd, 
water  and  other  impurities,  have  settled  to  the  bottom.  The 
slush  is  then  drawn  off  from  the  bottom  and  is  passed  through 
a  centrifugal  separator  for  the  purpose  of  reclaiming  any  fat 
that  may  have  escaped  with  the  slush.  A  hollow  bowl  sep- 
arator is  preferred  for  this  separation.  The  residue,  which  con- 
sists largely  of  curd  and  is  quite  solid  and  dry,  is  used  for  the 
manufacture  of  paste  by  treating  it  with  oxalic  acid. 

Purifying. — The  butter  oil,  thus  freed  from  the  slush,  is  now 
subjected  to  prolonged  aeration.  For  this  purpose  it  is  con- 
veyed into  large,  cylindrical,  jacketed  tanks.  A  powerful  cur- 
rent of  purified  air  is  blown  through  a  distributing  rosette  lo- 
cated in  or  near  the  bottom  of  the  tank,  violently  percolating 


RENOVATED  BUTTER  585 

upward  through  the  melted  butter  oil.  The  butter  oil  is  kept  in 
melted  condition  by  the  passage  of  hot  water  through  the  jacket 
of  the  purifying  tank.  It  is  aimed  to  maintain  a  temperature  of 
approximately  110  degrees  F.  This  aeration  is  continued  until 
the  liquid  fat  has  became  "Neutral,"  that  is  until  apparently  all 
foreign  odor  and  free  acids  have  been  blown  out  of  it. 

Addition  of  Starter. — This  butter  oil  is  now  without  flavor. 
In  order  to  return  to  it,  the  characteristic  butter  flavor,  starter 
made  from  skimmilk  or  whole  milk  is  added.  Lactic  acid  cul- 
tures, the  same  as  are  used  in  cream  ripening,  are  employed  for 
making  this  starter,  care  being  taken  that  the  starter  does  not 
become  overripe,  in  which  case  there  would  be  danger  of 
impregnating  the  finished  renovated  butter  with  white  specks. 
The  amount  of  starter  used  varies  greatly,  ranging  from  about 
two  per  cent  to  fifty  per  cent.  The  starter  is  thoroughly  mixed 
with  the  butter  oil,  either  in  the  blower  tanks  or  in  special  tanks 
equipped  with  mechanical  agitators. 

Coloring. — It  is  usually  not  necessary  to  add  color  to  the 
mixture.  Most  of  the  dairy  butter  surplus  is  made  during  the 
summer  season,  when  butterfat  has  naturally  a  high  color.  In 
case  the  butter  oil  is  deficient  in  natural  color,  a  sufficient  amount 
of  artificial  coloring  matter  is  added  to  suit  the  market. 

Crystallizing. — The  emulsion  of  butter  oil  and  starter  is 
plunged,  in  the  form  of  a  fine  stream,  into  ice  water,  or  water 
cooled  by  artificial  refrigeration,  to  a  few  degrees  above  the 
freezing  point.  This  sudden  chilling  immediately  crystallizes 
the  fat,  precipitating  it  in  the  form  of  flakes.  The  crystallizing  is 
accomplished  in  long  vats  filled  with  cold  water.  The  end  of  the 
vat  that  receives  the  liquid  butter  oil  'is  equipped  with  a  revolv- 
ing paddle  wheel.  The  fat  drips  down  into  the  water  slowly, 
as  soon  as  it  strikes  the  water  it  solidifies  in  the  form  of  flakes. 
The  revolving  paddle  wheel  starts  these  flakes  toward  the  op- 
posite end  of  the  vat,  so  that  the  thin  stream  of  melted  fat 
always  strikes  the  cold  water  direct  and  does  not  pile  up  on  the 
flakes  already  formed. 

In  the  case  the  cooling  is  done  in  ice  water,  instead  of 
in  water  kept  cold  by  artificial  refrigeration,  cakes  of  ice  are 
usually  anchored  in  the  bottom  of  the  vat,  so  as  to  avoid  warm- 
ing up  of  the  water. 


586  RENOVATED  BUTTER 

Ripening  and  Hardening. — As  the  flakes  gather  at  the 
further  end  of  the  crystallizing  vat,  they  are  scooped  out  into 
large  trays,  placed  on  trucks  which  are  subsequently  stacked 
into  the  ripening  or  hardening  room.  Here  the  butter  is  al- 
lowed to  remain  at  a  temperature  of  about  65  to  70  degrees 
F.  for  12  or  more  hours.  During  this  period  of  incubation,  the 
butter  ripens,  developing  flavor.  Before  salting  and  working, 
this  butter  is  usually  transferred  to  and  held  in  a  cold  room  in 
order  to  further  chill  and  harden  it. 

Salting  and  Working. — Next  day  these  trays  are  emptied 
into  combined  churns  and  workers,  sufficient  salt  is  added 
and  the  butter  is  worked.  Close  attention  is  paid  to  the  control 
of  moisture  keeping  the  moisture  below  16  per  cent,  in  order 
to  comply  with  the  law  defining  adulterated  butter. 

Packing. — The  renovated  butter  thus  manufactured  is 
placed  on  the  market  in  firkins,  tubs,  wooden  boxes,  or  in  prints, 
bricks  or  rolls.  When  packed  in  tubs  or  boxes  each  package 
must  contain  not  less  than  ten  pounds,  and  when  packed  in  a 
solid  body  or  mass,  there  must  be  stamped  or  branded  into  the 
upper  surface  of  the  butter  the  words  "Renovated  Butter,"  in 
one  or  two  lines,  the  letters  to  be  of  Gothic  style,  not  less  than 
one-half  inch  square  and  depressed  not  less  than  one-eighth  inch. 

The  prints,  bricks  and  rolls  must  weigh  not  less  than  one- 
half  pound.  Each  package  must  have  stamped  on  the  butter  the 
words  "Renovated  Butter,"  in  two  lines,  the  letters  to  be  of 
Gothic  style,  not  less  than  three-eighths  inch  square  and  de- 
pressed into  the  butter  not  less  than  one-eighth  inch. 

Every  package  must  be  marked  on  the  outside  on  two  sides 
with  the  words  "Renovated  Butter"  in  Gothic  letters,  not  less 
than  one-half  inch  square  and  so  placed  as  to  be  plainly  visible 
and  easily  read.  The  package  must  also  bear  the  necessary 
revenue  stamps  and  the  manufacturer's  declaration,  saying  that 
he  has  complied  with  the  requirements  of  the  law  and  the 
regulations  authorized  thereby.  Renovated  butter  for  export 
must  be  stamped  and  marked  the  same  as  for  the  domestic 
market. 

Markets. — The  market  for  good  grades  of  renovated  butter 
is  usually  active  in  this  country,  as  well  as  abroad.  Quota- 
tions fluctuated  before  the  war  at  from  three  to  about  seven  cents 


RENOVATED  BUTTER  587 

below  creamery  "extras."  Then  it  usually  sold  about  on  a  par 
with  poor  creamery  "firsts"  or  good  creamery  "seconds."  Since 
the  conclusion  of  the  war,  renovated  butter  quotations  have 
dropped  very  considerably,  being  as  low  as  ten  to  fifteen  cents 
below  creamery  "extras." 

Renovated  Butter  Definitions,  Standards  and  Laws. — By 
Act  of  Congress,  approved  May  9,  1902,  renovated  butter  is  de- 
fined as  follows:1 

"Sec.  4  ...  .  'Process  Butter/  or  'Renovated  But- 
ter' is  hereby  defined  to  mean  butter  which  has  been  subjected 
to  any  process  by  which  it  is  melted,  clarified  or  refined  and 
made  to  resemble  genuine  butter,  always  excepting  'adulterated 
butter/  as  defined  by  this  act." 

The  following  explanation  of  the  definition  and  law  on  adul- 
terated butter,  offered  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture2,  will 
assist  as  guidance  in  the  interpretation  of  the  renovated  butter 
law,  as  above  defined : 

"(f)  But  if,  in  such  process,  'or  in  any  (other)  way/  'any 
acid,  alkali,  chemical,  or  any  substance  whatever  is  introduced* 
or  used,  or  if  'there  is  mixed  (therewith)  any  substance  foreign 
to  butter/  or  if  in  any  way  the  substance  is  made  to  hold  'ab- 
normal quantities  of  water,  milk  or  cream/  the  substance  or 
commodity  is  to  be  recognized  and  treated  as  'adulterated  but- 
ter* under  this  act. 

"(g)  Renovated  butter  having  16  per  cent  or  more  of 
moisture  will  be  held  to  contain  'abnormal  quantities  of  water, 
milk  or  cream/  and  be,  therefore,  classed  as  'adulterated 
butter/  ' 

As  a  part  of  the  Standards  of  Purity  for  Food  Products3 
Supplementary  to  the  Federal  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  which  went 
in  force  January  1,  1907,  renovated  butter  was  defined  as  follows: 

"Renovated  butter,  process  butter,  is  the  product  made  by 
melting  and  reworking,  without  the  addition  or  use  of  chemicals 
or  any  substances  except  milk,  cream  or  salt,  and  contains  not 
more  than  sixteen  (16)  per  cent  of  water,  and  at  least  eighty- 
two  and  five-tenths  (82.5)  per  cent  of  milk  fat." 

1  Revised  Regulations  concerning-  Oleomargine,  also  Adulterated  butter 
and  process  or  renovated  butter,  U.  S.  Internal  Revenue  Dept.,  Regula- 
tions No.  9.  Revised  July,  1907. 

2U.  S.  Department  Agriculture,  B.  A.  I.  Order  No.  127,  1904. 

a  Standards  of  Purity  for  Food  Products,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  Circu- 
lar No.  19,  1906. 


588  LADI^D  BUTTER 

Taxes  imposed  on  the  manufacturer  and  dealer  of  renovated 
butter: 

Sec.  4,  Act  of  May  2,  p.  1906. 

"That  upon  process  and  renovated  butter,  when  manu- 
factured or  sold  or  removed  for  consumption  for  use,  there  shall 
be  assessed  and  collected  a  tax  of  one-fourth  of  one  cent  per 
pound  to  be  paid  by  the  manufacturer  thereof  and  any  fraction 
of  a  pound  shall  be  taxed  as  a  pound." 

"Manufacturers  of  process  or  renovated  butter  shall  pay  $50 
per  year.  Every  person  who  engages  in  the  production  of  process 
or  renovated  butter  as  a  business  shall  be  considered  to  be  a 
manufacturer  thereof. 

"Every  manufacturer  of  renovated  butter,  before  commenc- 
ing business  or  at  least  within  the  month  in  which  liability  to 
special  tax  commenced,  must  register  with  the  collector  of  the 
district  in  which  the  business  is  to  be  carried  on  his  name,  or 
firm  or  corporate  name,  place  of  residence,  nature  of  business, 
and  the  place  where  such  business  is  to  be  carried  on,  and 
procure  a  special  tax  stamp  at  the  rate  of  $50  per  annum,  which 
stamp  he  shall  place  and  keep  conspicuously  posted  in  his  estab- 
lishment or  place  of  business;  and  on  the  first  day  of  July  in 
each  year  he  must  again  so  register  and  procure  a  new  special 
tax  stamp  and  post  it  as  above  stated." 

LADLED  BUTTER. 

The  product  commonly  known  as  "ladled"  butter  is  a  grade 
of  butter  made  by  mixing  and  reworking  different  lots  or 
parcels  of  butter  so  as  to  secure  a  uniform  product.  This  is 
known  by  various  names  to  the  trade.  This  product  will  not 
be  held  to  be  renovated  butter  unless  in  addition  to  being  re- 
worked it  is  melted  and  refined.  It  will  not  be  held  to  be 
adulterated  butter  unless  materials  foreign  to  statutory  butter 
are  added  to  it,  or  it  is  made  to  contain  16  per  cent  or  more 
of  water.  Persons  who  engage  in  the  production  of  "ladled" 
butter  as  a  business  will  be  held  liable  to  special  tax  as  manu- 
facturers of  renovated  butter  if  they  melt  and  refine  their  prod- 
uct, and  to  special  tax  as  manufacturers  of  adulterated  butter 
if  they  use  in  it  substances  foreign  to  statutory  butter  or  pro- 
duce a  butter  having  16  per  cent  or  more  of  water.  Persons 
who  sell  "ladled"  butter  which  is  adulterated,  will  be  liable  to 
special  tax  as  dealers  in  adulterated  butter. 


STANDARDIZATION  OF  MII^K  AND  CREAM  589 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

STANDARDIZATION,  TESTS  AND  CHEMICAL 

ANALYSES  OF  MILK,  CREAM,  SKIM  MILK, 

BUTTERMILK  AND  BUTTER 

Standardization  of  Milk  and  Cream  for  Butterfat 

In  commercial  creamery  operation  as  well  as  in  experimental 
work  it  frequently  becomes  desirable,  and  sometimes  necessary,  to 
standardize  milk  or  cream  of  any  richness  to  a  definite  per  cent  of 
fat. 

In  case  the  milk  is  richer  than  desired,  it  may  be  reduced  to  the 
desired  per  cent  of  fat  either  (a)  by  simply  adding  skim  milk,  or 
milk  of  a  per  cent  of  fat  lower  than  that  desired,  to  the  milk  to  be 
standardized,  or  (b)  by  skimming  a  certain  portion  of  it  and  return- 
ing the  skim  milk  to  that  portion  which  was  not  skimmed.  If  cream 
is  to  be  standardized  to  a  lower  per  cent  of  fat,  the  same  method  as 
given  under  (a)  for  standardizing  milk  is  used,  except  that  in  addi- 
tion to  skim  milk  and  milk,  cream  of  a  lower  per  cent  fat  than  that 
desired  may  also  be  used.  It  is  never  advisable,  and  under  certain 
conditions  it  is  unlawful,  to  reduce  the  per  cent  of  fat  in  milk  or 
cream  by  adding  water. 

In  the  case  the  milk  is  lower  in  fat  than  desired,  its  fat  content 
can  be  increased  to  the  desired  standard,  either  (c)  by  adding  to 
the  milk  or  cream,  a  sufficient  quantity  of  milk  or  cream  that  is 
richer  in  fat  than  that  of  the  standard  desired,  or  (d)  by  skimming 
a  portion  of  the  milk  to  be  standardized  and  returning  the  cream  so 
produced  to  the  portion  of  milk  that  was  not  skimmed. 

For  the  correct  determination  of  the  amount  of  skim  milk,  milk 
or  cream  to  be  added  or  the  portion  of  milk  to  be  skimmed,  so  as  to 
utilize  all  of  the  milk  or  cream  which  is  to  be  standardized,  or  of  the 
correct  amount  of  the  milk  or  cream  to  be  standardized  and  of  the 
skim  milk,  milk,  or  cream  to  be  added  for  standardization  in  order 
to  obtain  the  desired  volume  of  standardized  mixture,  it  is  necessary 
to  apply  a  simple  and  accurate  method  of  calculation.  Such  a  method 
has  been  devised  by  Dr.  A.  R.  Pearson.1  The  following  directions 
for  standardization  of  milk  and  cream  are  based  on  Pearson's 
method : 


1  A.  R.  Pearson,  formerly  Professor  of  Dairying,   Cornell  University,  and 
now  President  Iowa  State  College,  Ames,  Iowa. 


590 


STANDARDIZATION  OF  MILK  AND  CREAM 


Draw  a  rectangle  as  shown  below.  In  the  center  place  the  per 
cent  of  fat  desired.  In  the  upper  and  lower  left  hand  corners  place 
the  per  cents  of  fat  contained  in  the  milk  or  cream  to  be  standard- 
ized and  in  the  skim  milk,  milk  or  cream  to  be  added.  In  the  upper 
right  hand  corner  place  the  difference  between  the  figure  in  the 
center  and  that  in  the  lower  left  hand  corner,  and  in  the  lower  right 
hand  corner  place  the  difference  between  the  figure  in  the  center 
and  the  figure  in  the  upper  right  hand  corner.  The  figures  in  the 
upper  and  lower  right  hand  corners  then  represent  the  correct  pro- 
portion of  the  two  liquids  which  are  to  be  mixed.  The  figure  in 
the  upper  right  hand  corner  refers  to  the  liquid  of  which  the  per 
cent  of  fat  is  given  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  and  the  figure  in 
the  lower  right  hand  corner  refers  to  the  liquid  of  which  the  per 
cent  of  fat  is  given  in  the  lower  left  hand  corner. 


(a)   Per  cent  fat  of 
Milk  to  be  stand- 
ardized 


(b)   Per  cent  of  fat 
of  Milk  to  stand- 
ardize with 


(c)  Per  cent  fat  desired 


Difference  between 
(b)  and  (c)  ;  this 
represents  propor- 
tion of  (a)  that 
must  be  used. 

Difference  between 
(a)  and  (c)  ;  this 
represents  propor- 
tion of  (b)  that 
must  be  used. 


Examples  of  How  to  Reduce     Per  Cent  Fat  in  Milk  or  Cream 

EXAMPLE  1. 

500  Ibs.  of  4  per  cent,  milk  are  to  be  reduced  to  3.5  per  cent 
milk  by  the  use  of  skim  milk  containing  .1  per  cent  fat.  How  much 
skim  milk  must  be.  added  ? 

4  3.4 


3.5 


.1  .5 

3.4  :  .5  =  500  :  X ;  X  =  73.5. 

73.5  Ibs.  of  skim  milk  must  be  used  to  reduce  the  500  Ibs.  of  4 
per  cent  milk  to  milk  testing  3.5  per  cent  fat. 


STANDARDIZATION  OF  Miuc  AND  CREAM 


591 


EXAMPLE  2. 

2,000  Ibs.  of  45  per  cent  cream  are  to  be  reduced  to  33  per  cent 
cream  by  the  use  of  3  per  cent  milk.  How  much  milk  must  be 
added? 

45  30 


33. 


3  12 

30  :  12 -2000  :X;X  =  800 

800  Ibs.  of  3  per  cent  milk  must  be  added  to  the  2000  Ibs.  of  45 
per  cent  cream  in  order  to  reduce  the  fat  in  the  cream  to  33  per  cent. 

EXAMPLE  3. 

1000  Ibs.  of  milk  testing  4.5  per  cent  fat  are  to  be  reduced  to 
milk  testing  3.8  per  cent  fat.  How  much  40  per  cent  cream  must 
be  removed  by  skimming? 

4.5  36.2 


3.8 


40  .7 

36.2  :  .7  =  1000  :  X ;  X  =  19.3 

19.3  Ibs.  of  40  per  cent  cream  must  be  removed  from  1000  Ibs. 
of  4.5  per  cent  milk  in  order  to  obtain  milk  testing  3.8  per  cent  fat, 
after  the  skim  milk  is  returned  to  that  portion  of  the  4.5  per  cent 
milk  which  was  not  separated. 

EXAMPLE  4. 

How  much  of  the  4.5  per  cent  milk  in  Example  3  must  be  run 
through  the  separator  to  remove  the  19.3  Ibs.  of  40  per  cent  cream? 

4.5 
Amount  of  40  per  cent  cream  of  each  100  Ibs.  of  milk-^r  X  100 

=  11.25  Ibs.  40  per  cent  cream.  Hence,  11.25  :  100=  19.3  :  X;  X 
=  171.55.  171.55  Ibs.  of  the  1000  Ibs.  of  4.5  per  cent  milk  must  be 
separated  in  order  to  remove  19.3  Ibs.  of  40  per  cent  cream  and 
to  reduce  the  per  cent  fat  in  the  remaining  milk,  after  the  skim  milk 
is  returned  to  it,  to  3.8  per  cent  fat. 


592 


STANDARDIZATION  OF  MILK  AND  CREAM 


Examples  of  How  to  Increase  Per  Cent  of  Fat  in  Milk  or  Cream 

5. 


500  Ibs.  of  milk  testing  3.2  per  cent  fat  are  to  be  standardized 
to  secure  milk  testing  4.5  per  cent  fat.  How  much  5  per  cent  milk 
must  be  added? 

3.2  .5 


4.5 


5  1.3 

.5  : 1.3  — 500  :X;  X  =  1300 

1300  Ibs.  of  5  per  cent  milk  must  be  added  to  the  500  Ibs.  of  3.2 
per  cent  milk  in  order  to  secure  milk  testing  4.5  per  cent  fat. 

EXAMPLE  6. 

1000  Ibs.  of  milk  testing  3.5  per  cent  fat  are  to  be  standardized 
to  milk  testing  4  per  cent  fat.  How  much  skim  milk,  containing 
no  fat,  must  be  removed  ? 

3.5   fc  4 


4. 


.0  .5 

4  :. 5  =  1000  :X;  X=   125 

125  Ibs.  of  skim  milk  must  be  removed  in  order  to  standardize 
1000  Ibs.  of  3.5  per  cent  milk  to  4  per  cent  milk. 

EXAMPLE  7. 

How  much  of  the  1000  Ibs.  of  3.5  per  cent  milk  must  be  skimmed 
in  order  to  remove  the  125  Ibs.  of  skim  milk  required  in  Example  6? 

In  order  to  answer  Example  7,  the  richness  of  the  cream  sep- 
arated must  be  known.  Assuming  that  the  separator  is  set  so  as  to 
skim  a  30  per  cent  cream  the  answer  is  as  follows : 

Amount  of  cream  per  100  Ibs.  of  3.5  per  cent  milk  is  —^  X  100 

=  11.67  Ibs.  cream. 

100  Ibs.  3.5  per  cent  milk  yield  11.67  Ibs.  of  30%>  cream  and 
88.33  Ibs.  skim  milk  (100—11.67  =  88.33). 


TESTING  MILK  AND  CREAM  FOR  ACID 


593 


The  removal  of  125  Ibs.  of  skim  milk  necessitates  the  separa- 
tion of  88.33  :  100=  125  :X,  or  141.5  pounds  of  the  1000  Ibs.  of 
3.5%  milk. 

EXAMPLE  8. 

2000  Ibs.  of  32  per  cent  cream  are  wanted.  How  many  pounds 
of  skim  milk  starter  and  how  many  pounds  of  38  per  cent  cream 
must  be  mixed? 

38  32 


32 


0  6 

38 

38  : 32  =  2000  :  X;  X  =  1684  Ibs.  38%  cream 
38  :   6  =  2000  :X;  X=    316  Ibs.  starter. 

2000  Ibs.  32%  cream. 

In  order  to  secure  2000  Ibs.  of  32  per  cent  cream,  1684  Ibs.  of 
38  per  cent  cream  must  be  mixed  with  316  Ibs.  of  skim  milk  starter. 

TESTING  MILK,  CREAM  AND  STARTER  FOR  ACID 

The  acidity  in  milk,  cream  and  starter  is  intimately  related  to 
the  flavor  and  keeping  quality  of  the  resulting  butter.  It  is  impor- 
tant for  the  creamery  to  know  the  acidity  of  the  milk  when  it  arrives 
at  the  factory  so  as  to  determine  its  fitness  for  manufacture.  In 
the  ripening  of  cream  and  starter  the  acidity  expresses  the  degree  of 
ripeness,  and  in  the  neutralization  of  sour  cream  the  acidity  must 
be  accurately  determined  in  order  to  enable  the  operator  to  use  the 
correct  amount  of  neutralizer  that  will  reduce  the  acidity  to  the 
desired  point.  It  is  important,  therefore,  that  the  creamery  use  sys- 
tematically a  simple,  practical  and  accurate  test  of  milk,  cream  and 
starter  for  acid. 

Principle  of  Acid  Tests. — Numerous  acid  tests  have  been 
devised  for  this  purpose,  all  of  which  are  based  on  the  principle  of 
measuring  the  per  cent  acid  by  the  amount  of  alkali  needed  to  reduce 
a  measured  volume  of  the  sample  to  be  tested  to  the  neutral  point. 
These  tests  are  devised  on  the  basis  that -a  given  volume  of  a  normal 
solution  of  an  alkali  neutralizes  the  same  volume  of  a  normal  solu- 
tion of  an  acid.  By  the  term  "normal  solution"  is  meant  a  solution 


594  TESTING  MII,K  AND  CREAM  FOR  ACID 

which  is  so  prepared  that  one  liter  shall  contain  the  hydrogen  equiv- 
alent of  the  active  reagent  weighed  in  grams  (Sutton).1 

In  other  words,  a  normal  solution  of  an  acid  is  a  solution 
which  contains  in  one  liter  as  much  of  the  active  reagent,  the  acid, 
as  is  represented  by  the  molecular  weight  of  the  acid  in  grams.  In 
the  case  of  lactic  acid  (C3H6O3)  the  molecular  weight  is  90. 

A  normal  solution  of  an  alkali  is  a  solution  which  contains  in 
one  liter  as  much  of  the  active  reagent,  the  alkali,  as  is  represented 
by  the  molecular  weight  of  the  alkali  in  grams.  In  the  case  of 
caustic  soda  or  sodium  hydroxide  (NaOH)  the  molecular  weight  is 
40.  Since  equal  amounts  of  normal  solutions  of  acids  and  alkalies 
neutralize  each  other,  1  c.c.  of  N  Na  OH  (1  c.c.  of  a  normal  solu- 
tion of  caustic  soda  or  sodium  hydroxide)  neutralizes  1  c.c.  of  N  C3 
H6O3  (1  c.c.  of  a  normal  solution  of  lactic  acid). 

The  acid  contained  in  milk,  cream  and  starter  is  largely  lactic  acid 
and  is  always  calculated  as  such.  The  alkali  used  for  determining 
the  per  cent  acid  is  sodium  hydroxide  (NaOH),  commonly  known 
as  caustic  soda.  In  order  to  know  when  a  liquid  is  alkaline  and  when 
it  is  acid,  or  when  enough  alkali  has  been  added  to  reduce  all  the 
acid  and  render  the  liquid  neutral,  a  color  indicator  is  used  that  shows 
different  color  reaction  in  acids  and  in  alkalies.  Of  the  several  indi- 
cators available,  that  known  as  phenolphthalein  is  most  commonly 
and  most  suitably  used  in  acid  tests  of  milk  and  cream.  In  acids, 
such  as  sour  milk,  sour  cream  and  starter,  phenolphthalein  is  color- 
less similar  as  water.  In  alkaline  solutions,  such  as  sodium  hydrox- 
ide, phenolphthalein  turns  to  a  deep  pink  color.  Hence,  when 
enough  sodium  hydroxide  has  been  added  to  milk,  cream  or  starter, 
to  neutralize  all  the  acid,  these  products  turn  pink.  The  moment  a 
permanent  faint  pink  color  appears,  the  test  is  completed  and  the 
number  of  cubic  centimeters  of  sodium  hydroxide  needed  to  produce 
this  permanent  faintly  pink  tint,  serves  as  the  basis  upon  which  the 
per  cent  acid  is  calculated. 

In  order  to  augment  the  sensitiveness  and  accuracy  of  the  test, 
alkaline  solutions,  much  weaker  than  a  normal  solution,  are  used. 
In  most  tests  the  alkaline  solution  is  a  tenth  normal  solution  of 

N 
sodium  hydroxide   (^-  NaOH). 

The  alkaline  solution  must  be  of  standard  strength,  it  must  be 
accurate,  otherwise  the  test  cannot  be  dependable  in  its  results.  It 

1  Farrington  &  Woll,  Testing  Milk  and  Its  Products. 


TESTING  MII.K  AND  CREAM  FOR  ACID  595 

is  not  feasible  for  the  average  creamery  which  has  no  chemical 
laboratory,  and  no  skilled  chemist,  to  weigh  out  the  dry  sodium 
hydroxide  and  to  make  up  the  desired  strength  solution  from  it. 
Attempts  to  do  this  work  under  ordinary  creamery  conditions  almost 
invariably  result  in  alkaline  solutions  that  are  not  of  standard 
strength  and  that  yield  erroneous  tests. 

The  creamery  may,  however,  purchase  standard  alkaline  solu- 
tion of  a  strength  suitable  to  be  used  without  further  dilution,  or  it 
may  purchase  a  concentrated  standard  alkaline  solution  which  can 
be  diluted  in  accordance  with  the  directions  furnished  on  the  bottle, 
or  it  can  purchase  the  chemically  pure,  dry  sodium  hydroxide  of 
exact  known  weight  and  dissolve  the  contents  of  the  entire  package 
in  the  necessary  amount  of  distilled  water,  or  the  sodium  hydroxide 
may  be  purchased  in  the  form  of  tablets  of  known  strength,  which, 
when  dissolved  in  a  given  amount  of  water,  produce  the  desired 
standard  solution. 

Any  of  the  above  enumerated  forms  of  alkali  will  yield  standard 
alkaline  solutions,  when  purchased  from  a  reliable  supply  house, 
when  diluted  with  or  dissolved  in  the  correct  amount  of  distilled 
water,  or  rain  water,  or  other  water  free  from  alkalies  or  acids,  and 
when  care  is  taken  that  all  of  the  alkali  contained  in  one  and  the 
same  purchased  container  is  used  and  that  none  of  it  is  spilled.  For 
creameries  that  are  not  equipped  with  a  chemical  laboratory  and  that 
do  not  have  the  services  of  a  skilled  chemist  the  purchase  and  use 
of  sodium  hydroxide  in  any  of  the  forms  enumerated  above  will 
generally  place  at  their  disposal  uniformly  accurate  alkaline  solu- 
tions. 

For  creameries  that  maintain  their  own  chemical  laboratory, 
the  following  method,  devised  by  Hunziker  and  Hosman,1  may  as- 
sist in  the  further  "fool-proofing"  of  tenth  normal  alkali  solutions : 
Use  a  common  large  stock  bottle,  a  two  gallon  bottle,  such  as  can 
be  readily  purchased  from  and  easily  replaced  by  any  drug  store. 
These  bottles,  when  filled  to  just  below  the  neck,  hold  7500  cubic 
centimeters.  Fill  them  with  water  to  the  7500  c.c.  mark  and  mark 
the  7500  c.c.  level  by  a  scratch  on  the  shoulder  of  the  bottle  with  a 
file.  Crush  in  a  mortar,  or  otherwise,  sodium  sticks  and  weigh  30 
grams  of  the  crushed  sticks  each  into  glass  tubes.  The  tubes  should 

i  Hunziker  and  Hosman,  A  Practical  M'ethod  for  the  Preparation  of  Accu- 
rate NAOH  Solutions  for  Acid  Tests.    Blue  Valley  Research  Laboratory 


596  TESTING  MII^K  AND  CREAM  FOR  ACID 

be  constructed  of  reasonably  thin  glass,  the  ordinary  test  tubes  used 
in  the  chemical  laboratory  are  very  suitable  for  this  purpose.  They 
should  have  an  outside  diameter  of  %  inch  and  should  be  about  7 
inches  long,  so  that  they  readily  slip  through  the  mouth  of  the  two- 
gallon  bottle. 

Seal  these  tubes  by  fusing  the  glass  over  the  flame.  In  order  to 
make  up  a  tenth  normal  solution,  all  the  operator  has  to  do  is  to 
drop  one  of  these  tubes  rilled  with  dry  sodium  hydroxide  into  the 
two-gallon  bottle.  The  tube  breaks  as  it  strikes  the  bottom  of  the 
bottle,  releasing  the  alkali.  Now  fill  the  bottle  with  water  to  the 
scratch  on  the  shoulder.  Mix  thoroughly  by  placing  hand  over 
mouth  of  bottle  and  inverting  it  several  times,  until  the  alkali  is  all 
dissolved.  This  is  now  a  tenth  normal  solution  which  is  ready  for 
use. 

When  the  solution  has  been  used  up,  empty  the  bottle  of  the 
remnant  of  solution  and  the  broken  glass  tube,  drop  into  the  bottle 
a  fresh  tube  and  again  fill  up  with  distilled  water  and  mix. 

If  commercial  sodium  sticks  are  used,  which  are  not  chemically 
pure,  from  31  to  32  grams  are  required,  according  to  the  extent  of 
impurities  present.  In  this  case  the  sodium  hydrate  should  be  care- 
fully titrated  against  standard  acid,  so  as  to  determine  the  exact 
amount  of  sodium  hydrate  to  be  weighed  into  the  glass  tubes  that 
will  yield,  in  the  7500  c.c.  of  distilled  water,  a  tenth  normal  solution. 

Calculation  of  Per  Cent  Acid  When  a  Tenth  Normal  Solution 
of  Sodium  Hydroxide  is  Used 

1  c.c.  ^  NaOH  neutralizes  1  c.c.  ^  C3H6O3. 

N 
1  c.c.  of  a  -r:r  lactic  acid  solution  contains  .009  grams  lactic 

•    i  J.  \J 

acid. 

Hence,  in  order  to  find  the  per  cent  acid  in  milk,  cream  or 
starter,  multiply  the  cubic  centimeters  of  alkali  solution  required  to 
neutralize  the  milk  or  cream  with  .009,  divide  the  product  by  the 
grams  of  milk  or  cream  used  and  multiply  by  100. 

N 
c.c.        alkali  solution  X  .009 


X  100  =  %    lactic  acid. 

grams  milk  or  cream  .ME  .1 

For  all  practical  purposes  the  measuring  of  the  milk  or  cream 
gives  sufficiently  accurate  results  to  obviate  the  less  practical  and 


TESTING  MII^K  AND  CREAM  FOR  ACID  597 

more  time-consuming  work  of  weighing.  While  the  size  of  the 
sample  may  vary,  factory  experience  has  shown  that  18  grams 
makes  a  very  practical  sample.  It  represents  enough  material  to 
insure  reasonable  accuracy  and  it  obviates  complex  calculations  to 
determine  the  per  cent  acid.  In  the  case  of  milk  the  18  grams  are 
measured  with  the  standard  17.6  c.c.  Babcock  test  pipette.  In  the 
case  of  cream  an  18  c.c.  or  possibly  a  9  c.c.,  pipette  is  used.  The 
cream  pipette  must  be  rinsed  with  water  and  the  rinsings  added  to 
the  sample. 

Example  :  7.4  c.c.  of  tenth  normal  alkali  solution  are  required 
to  neutralize  18  c.c.  of  cream  to  a  faint  pink  color.  What  is  the 
per  cent  acid? 

7.4 


Or,  for  more  rapid  calculation,  simply  divide  the  c.c.  alkaline 
solution  required,  by  20. 

7-4        ^ 

—  =  .37  per  cent  acid. 

If  instead  of  an  18  c.c.  pipette,  a  9  c.c.  pipette  is  used,  then  only 
one-half  as  much  alkaline  solution,  or  3.7  c.c.,  is  required  and  the 
per  cent  acid  is  calculated  as  follows: 

37  *  -009  X  100  =  .37%  acid. 

Or  the  c.c.  alkaline  solution  required  is  simply  divided  by  10. 
-j-=z  .37  per  cent  acid. 

Phenolphthalein  indicator  is  prepared  by  dissolving  1  gram  dry. 
phenolphthalein  in  100  c.c.  of  a  mixture  of  one-half  alcohol  and  one- 
half  water. 

Standard  Acid  Tests  and  their  Equipment  for  Factory 
Use.  —  The  following  are  practical  and  satisfactory  acid  tests,  the 
equipment  and  chemicals  for  which  can  be  readily  secured  from 
glassware  manufacturers  and  from  dairy  and  creamery  supply 
houses  : 

Mann's  Acid  Test.  —  Apparatus  needed:  50  c.c.  graduated 
burette  with  burette  stand  for  measuring  the  alkaline  solution  ;  a  50 
c.c.  pipette  for  measuring  the  cream,  a  white  cup  and  stirring  rod  or 
teaspoon. 

N 
Reagents  needed:     j^rNaOH  (a  one-tenth  normal  solution  of 


598  TESTING  MILK  AND  CREAM  FOR  ACID 

sodium  hydroxide)  and  an  alcoholic  solution  of  phenolphthalein. 
Both  of  these  solutions  may  be  purchased  from  creamery  supply 
houses  or  chemical  supply  houses. 

Making  the  Test. — With  the  50  c.c.  pipette  transfer  50  c.c.  of 
the  cream  into  the  white  cup,  rinse  pipette  with  water  and  add  rins- 
ings to  sample  in  cup.  Add  one-half  c.c.  of  phenolphthalein  solu- 
tion. Fill  the  50  c.c.  burette  with  the  tenth  normal  solution  of 
sodium  hydroxide.  Run  this  solution  slowly  from  the  burette 
into  the  white  cup,  stirring  the  cream  constantly.  Each  drop  of 
sodium  hydroxide  will  give  the  cream  a  pink  color  which  at  first 
immediately  disappears.  As  more  of  sodium  hydrate  solution  is 
added  the  pink  color  disappears  more  gradually  until,  when  the  neu- 
tral point  has  been  reached  the  pink  color  of  the  cream  remains  con- 
stant for  several  minutes.  When  this  point  is  reached,  that  is,  when 
upon  stirring  a  faint  pink  color  remains  in  the  cream,  enough  sodium 
hydroxide  has  been  added  and  the  test  is  completed.  Now  read  off 
on  the  graduations  of  the  burette  the  number  of  c.c.  of  decinormal 
alkali  solution  that  was  used  and  multiply  this  by  the  factor  .018. 

OOQ 
(  '        X  100  =  .018).    This  gives  the  per  cent  acid  in  the  cream. 

N 
Example. — 35  c.c.yjy  NaOH  are  required  to  neutralize  50  c.c. 

of  cream.     What  is  the  per  cent  acid? 
7C  v  OOQ 

C  '         X  100,  or  35  X  -018=  .63%  acid. 
*)U 

The  detection  of  the  pink  color  is  facilitated  by  adding  a  pipette 
full  of  water  to  the  cream  in  the  cup  before  titrating. 

A  Practical  Factory  Test. — For  practical  creamery  operation 
the  Mann's  acid  test  is  modified  to  the  extent  of  using  a  17.6  c.c. 
pipette  for  milk  or  an  18  c.c.  pipette  for  cream  instead  of  a  50  c.c. 
pipette.  Measure  17.6  c.c.  or  18  c.c.  of  the  milk  or  cream  to  be 
tested  into  the  white  cup.  Add  5  drops  of  phenolphthalein  indi- 
cator and  then  add  tenth  normal  alkaline  solution  from  the  burette 
until  a  permanent  faintly  pink  color  appears,  stirring  the  milk  or 
cream  in  the  cup  with  the  rod  while  adding  the  alkaline  solution. 
Do  not  add  alkali  until  the  sample  is  deep  pink.  If  not  sure  that 
the  neutral  point  has  been  reached  and  that  enough  alkaline  solution 
has  been  added,  pour  one  drop  of  phenolphthalein  indicator  into  cup. 
If  the  milk  or  cream  turn  pink  the  test  is  completed,  if  no  pink  color 


TESTING  MILK  AND  CREAM  FOR  ACID 


599 


appears,  add  more  alkaline  solution  from  the  burette:  When  the 
test  is  completed  divide  the  number  of  c.c.  tenth  normal  alkaline 
solution  required  to  produce  the  pink  shade,  as  indicated  on  the 
graduation  of  the  burette,  by  20.  The  result  represents  per  cent 
acid.  ^  N 

Example. — 12  c.c.  -r^  NaOH  are  needed  to  neutralize  the  18  c.c. 
of  milk  or  cream. 

12 


20 


=  .6  per  cent  acid. 


rig-.  85.     Nans  Alkali  Bottle  and  Burette  for  Acid  Test 
Courtesy  of  Louis  F.  Nafls 

Farrington  Alkaline  Tablet  Test. — Apparatus  Needed.    One 

100  c.c.  graduated  glass  cylinder  with  stopper;  one  17.6  c.c.  Bab- 
cock  pipette;  one  white  cup. 

Reagents. — Farrington  Alkaline  tablets. 

Making  the  Test. — Dissolve  5  tablets  in  97  c.c.  wrater  in  the 
glass  cylinder.  As  these  tablets  require  about  six  hours  for  com- 
plete solution  it  is  advisable  to  place  the  tablets  in  the  water  in  the 
cylinder  on  the  evening  before  the  day  when  the  solution  is  to  be 


600  TESTING  MILK  AND  CREAM  FOR  ACID 

used ;  stopper  tightly  and 'lay  the  cylinder  horizontally.  This  insures 
complete  solution  by  the  time  the  tablet  solution  is  needed.  When 
ready  for  the  test,  pour  with  the  pipette  17.6  c.c.  cream  into  the 
white  cup  and  add  tablet  solution  from  the  cylinder  until  the  cream 
remains  faintly  pink.  Then  read  off  the  number  of  c.c.  of  tablet 
solution  used  on  the  graduations  of  the  cylinder.  Each  c.c.  tablet 
solution  represents  .01  per  cent  acid. 

Example. — 60  c.c.  tablet  solution  are  required  to  neutralize  the 
cream,  in  the  cup.  60  X  .01  =  .6  per  cent  acid.  The  Farrington 
alkaline  tablets  are  especially  convenient  because  they  contain  both 
the  alkali  and  the  indicator.  They  may  be  purchased  from  any 
creamery  supply  house.  They  should  be  kept  perfectly  dry  and  in 
the  dark.  Otherwise  they  will  weaken  and  the  indicator  will  bleach 
out.  For  maximum  accuracy  an  18  c.c.  pipette  should  be  used  for 
cream. 

Marshall  Acid  Test. — Apparatus  Needed.  One  alkaline  solu- 
tion bottle  with  graduated  burette,  one  9  c.c.  pipette,  one  white 
cup,  one  bottle  for  indicator. 

Reagents  Needed. — Tenth  normal  solution  of  sodium  hydro- 
xide (neutralizer)  and  phenolphthalein  indicator  same  as  in 
Mann's  test. 

Making  the  Test. — With  the  pipette  pour  9  c.c.  of  cream  into 
the  white  cup ;  add  a  few  drops  of  indicator.  Fill  neutralizer  bottle 

N 

with  the  -Tp  solution  of  sodium  hydroxide.  Fill  the  graduated  bur- 
ette by  tipping  the  bottle  until  the  burette  is  full  and  run  neutralizer 
from  the  burette  into  the  cream  in  the  cup  until  the  cream  remains 
slightly  pink.  The  number  of  c.c.  of  neutralizer  solution  used,  as 
indicated  on  the  graduation  of  the  burette,  represents  per  cent  acid- 
ity. 

Soxhlet-Henkel  Acid  Test— This  test  is  very  similar  to  the 
previous  tests,  but  instead  of  expressing  the  results  in  number  of 
cubic  centimeters  of  decinormal  alkaline  solution  required,  as  is  the 
case  in  Mann's  acid  test,  or  in  per  cent  of  acid  in  the  cream  as  is  the 
case  of  the  Farrington  Tablet  test  and  the  Marshall  Acid  test,  the 
Soxhlet-Henkel  Acid  test  gives  its  results  in  degrees  acid.  One 
degree  is  equivalent  to  approximately  .045  per  cent  acid  or  to  2.5  c.c. 
decinormal  alkaline  solution  of  Mann's  acid  test  using  50  c.c.  of 
cream.  In  this  test  a  one-fourth  normal  solution  of  sodium  hydrate 
is  used  for  neutralizing  the  acid. 


DETERMINATION  OF   SPECIFIC  GRAVITY  601 

Apparatus  Needed. — One  Soxhlet-Henkel  titration  apparatus 
consisting  of  one  50  c.c.  graduated  burette  with  pinch  cock ;  one  solu- 
tion bottle  with  double  perforated  stopper  and  equipped  with  rubber 
bulb  and  connection  with  burette ;  one  50  c.c.  pipette  for  measuring 
cream ;  one  white  cup  or  porcelain  dish ;  one  2  c.c.  pipette  for  meas- 
uring the  indicator. 

Reagents  Needed. — One-fourth  normal  solution  of  sodium 
hydrate  and  an  alcoholic  solution  of  phenolphthalein. 

Making  the  Test.— With  50  c.c.  pipette  pour  50  c.c.  of  the 
cream  to  be  tested  into  the  white  cup.  Add  2  c.c.  of  the  phenolphtha- 
lein indicator.  Fill  the  burette  to  the  top  graduation  with  the  alkaline 
solution  from  the  bottle  by  pressing  the  rubber  bulb.  Then  draw 
from  the  burette  enough  of  the  alkaline  solution  into  the  cup  until 
after  rotating  the  cup,  or  stirring  the  contents,  a  faint  pink  color 
remains.  The  number  of  cubic  centimeters  of  the  alkaline  solution 
required,  as  shown  on  the  graduation  of  the  burette,  are  termed 
degrees  of  acid.  Each  cubic  centimeter  of  the  one-fourth  normal 
alkaline  solution  represents  one  degree  of  acid. 

This  method  was  later  modified  by  Soxhlet-Henkel  to  the  extent 
of  using  100  c.c.  of  cream  instead  of  50  c.c.  and  increasing  the  phe- 
nolphthalein from  2  c.c.  to  4  c.c.  Here  again  each  cubic  centimeter 
of  one-fourth  normal  alkaline  solution  required  to  neutralize  the  acid 
in  the  cream  represents  one  degree  of  acid.  In  this  case  one  degree 
of  acid  is  equivalent  to  .0225  per  cent  acid,  or  1.25  c.c.  of  decinormal 
alkaline  solution  of  Mann's  test.  In  stating  the  degree  of  acid 
by  the  Soxhlet-Henkel  method  it  is  necessary  therefore  to  know 
whether  they  refer  to  the  use  of  50  c.c.  or  of  100  c.c.  of  cream. 

DETERMINATION   OF   SPECIFIC   GRAVITY   OF  MILK 
SKIM  MILK,  CREAM  AND  BUTTERMILK 

Definition. — By  the  specific  gravity  of  a  liquid  is  meant  the 
weight  of  a  given  volume  of  the  liquid,  such  as  milk,  skim  milk, 
cream,  etc.,  as  compared  with  the  weight  of  the  same  volume  of 
water  at  the  same  temperature.  The  specific  gravity  of  water  is  1. 
That  is,  one  cubic  centimeter  of  water  weighs  one  gram.  Milk  is 
heavier  than  water,  therefore  its  specific  gravity  is  greater  than  that 
of  water.  Average  milk  has  a  specific  gravity  of  1.032.  The  specific 
gravity  is  usually  determined  or  calculated  at  a  temperature  of  60°  F. 

The  specific  gravity  of  liquids  is  readily  determined  by  means 


602 


DETERMINATION  OF  SPECIFIC  GRAVITY 


of  instruments  called  hydrometers.  The  hydrometer  is  a 
floating  glass  spindle,  so  constructed  that  it  rests  in  the 
liquid  to  be  tested  in  an  upright  position.  The  spindle  bears 
a  graduated  scale  on  which  the  specific  gravity,  or  its  equiva- 
lent at  a  given  temperature  (usually  60°  F.),  can  be  read  at 
a  glance.  In  order  to  make  the  divisions  on  the  scale  as  far 
apart  as  possible  and  to  thereby  make  the  instrument  most 
sensitive  and  accurate,  different  hydrometer  scales  have 
been  devised  and  are  used  for  different  liquids.  The 
hydrometers  used  for  milk  are  called  lactometers,  of  which 
there  are  two  types,  namely,  the  Quevenne 
lactometer  and  the  New  York  Board  of  Health 
lactometer. 

Quevenne  Lactometer. — The  Quevenne 
lactometer  is  the  one  most  generally  used  for 
determining  the  specific  gravity  of  milk  and  skim 
milk.  It  consists  of  a  spindle  with  a  scale  gradu- 
ated from  15  to  40,  a  weighted  bulb,  and  usually 
a  thermometer.  The  scale  is  divided  into  25 
equal  parts,  ranging  from  15  to  40.  Each  divi- 
sion is  called  a  degree  and  every  fifth  division  is 
numbered  on  the  scale.  Each  division  corre- 
sponds to  one  point  of  the  third  decimal  of  the 
specific  gravity  scale.  The  Quevenne  degrees 
are  converted  into  specific  gravity  by  adding 
1000  and  dividing  by  1000. 


.1 


Example. — Quevenne  Reading  is  32.    What  is 
the  specific  gravity? 


1000  +  32 
1000 


=  1.032  specific  gravity. 


The  Quevenne    lactometer    is    so    constructed 
that  the  scale  records  the  correct    degree    at    a 
temperature  of  60°  F.     At  a  temperature  above 
60°  F.  the  reading  is  corrected  by  adding  one-  M<  4-.  Board 
tenth  point  to  the  actual  reading  for  each  degree    of  Hcaltn 


Pigf.  86. 

Quevenne 
Lactometer 

Courtesy    F.  above  60.    At  a  temperature  below  60°  F.  de- 
B?osnncor  duct  one-tenth  point  for  each  degree  F.  below  60. 


Lactom- 


DETERMINATION   Otf   SPECIFIC   GRAVITY  603 

Example. — Quevenne  reading  at  65°  F.  is  33.  What  is  the 
corrected  reading? 

33  +  -5  =  33.5,  corrected  Quevenne  reading. 

For  the  use  of  the  Quevenne  lactometer  provide  a  glass  or  tin 
cylinder  about  10  inches  high  and  one  and  one-half  inches  wide. 
Fill  the  cylinder  with  the  milk  to  be  tested.  The  temperature  of  the 
milk  should  be  within  the  limits  of  50  to  70°  F.  Insert  the  lacto- 
meter and  when  it  has  found  its  equilibrium,  note  the  point  on  the 
scale  at  the  surface  of  the  milk.  This  represents  the  Quevenne 
degrees.  The  milk  should  be  free  from  foam.  Freshly  drawn 
milk,  and  skim  milk  direct  from  the  centrifugal  separator  will  yield 
too  low  readings  because  of  the  incorporated  air.  Such  milk  should 
be  allowed  to  stand  at  rest  until  the  air  has  had  a  chance  to  escape. 

New  York  Board  of  Health  Lactometer. — This  type  of  lacto- 
meter has  an  arbitrary  scale,  it  does  not  show  the  specific  gravity 
direct.  It  was  originally  constructed  for  the  use  of  milk  inspectors 
in  eastern  cities,  but  its  use  is  now  only  very  limited.- 

It  has  a  graduation  from  zero  to  120.  The  zero  point  is  the 
point  to  which  this  lactometer  sinks  in  water.  The  100  mark  is  the 
point  to  which  the  scale  sinks  in  milk  of  a  specific  gravity  of  1.029  at 
60°  F.,  which  is  assumed  to  be  the  lowest^  specific  gravity  of  normal 
milk,  or  milk  to  which  no  extraneous  water  has  been  added.  'The 
distance  between  zero  and  100  is  divided  into  100  equal  points  and 
the  scale  is  extended  beyond  the  100  divisions  to  120.  To  convert 
New  York  Board  of  Health  lactometer  degrees  into  Quevenne 
degrees,  multiply  the  B.  of  H.  reading  by  .29  and  to  convert  Que- 
venne degrees  into  B.  of  H.  degrees  divide  the  Quevenne  degrees 
by  .29. 

EXAMPLES. 

Milk  tests  110  B.  of  H.  lactometer  degrees  at  60°  F.  What  is 
the  Quevenne  reading  at  60°  F. 

1 10  X. 29  =  31.9   degrees   Quevenne. 

Milk  tests  34  degrees  Quevenne  lactometer  at  60°  F.  What  is 
the  B.  of  H.  reading  at  60°  F.  ? 

34 

-yg  =  117.2  degrees  B.  of  H.  lactometer. 


604 


DETERMINATION  OF  SPECIFIC  GRAVITY 


Table  101. — Degrees  on  Quevenne  Lactometer  Corresponding  to 
Degrees  on  New  York  Board  of  Health  Lactometer. 


Board  of 
Health 
Degrees 

Quevenne 
Degrees 

Board  of 
Health 
Degrees 

Quevenne 
Degrees 

Board  of 
Health 
Degrees 

Quevenne 
Degrees 

60 

17.4 

81 

23.5 

101 

29.3 

61 

17.7 

82 

23.8 

102 

29.6 

62 

18.0 

83 

24.1 

103 

29.9 

63 

18.3 

84 

24.4 

104 

30.2 

64 

18.6 

85 

24.6 

105 

30.5 

65 

18.8 

86 

24.9 

106 

30.7 

66 

19.1 

87 

25.2 

107 

31.0 

67 

19.4 

88 

25.5 

108 

31.3 

68 

19.7 

89 

25.8 

109 

31.6 

69 

20.0 

90 

26.1 

110 

31.9 

70 

20.3 

91 

26.4 

111 

32.2 

71 

20.6 

92 

26.7 

112 

32.5 

72 

20.9 

93 

27.0 

113 

32.8 

73 

21.2 

94 

27.3 

114 

33.1 

74 

21.5 

95 

27.6 

115  •  . 

33.4 

75 

21.7 

96 

•  27.8 

116 

33.6 

76 

22.0 

97 

28.1 

117 

33.9 

77 

22.3 

98 

28.4 

118 

34.2 

78 

22.6 

99 

28.7 

119 

34.5 

79 

22.9 

100 

29.0 

120 

34.8 

80 

23.2 

• 

For  temperatures  above  60°  F.  add  one  lactometer  degree  for 
every  3°  F.  above  60. 

For  temperatures  below  60°  F.  deduct  one  lactometer  degree 
for  every  3°  F.  below  60. 

The  New  York  Board  of  Health  lactometer  is  used  in  a  similar 
manner  as  the  Quevenne  lactometer. 

Specific  Gravity  of  Cream  and  Buttermilk. — The  aerometric 
or  hydrometer  method  of  determining  the  specific  gravity  is  not  gen- 
erally suitable  for  cream  and  buttermilk.  The  viscosity  of  the  cream 
and  the  usual  presence  of  varying  amounts  of  air  in  cream  render 
the  results  unreliable.  In  the  case  of  buttermilk,  the  chief  objection 
lies  in  the  fact  that  when  this  product  is  fluid  enough  to  afford  reason- 
ably free  movement  of  the  lactometer,  the  curd  drops  to  the  bottom 
rapidly  and  before  a  satisfactory  reading  can  be  taken;  and  when 
the  consistency  of  the  buttermilk  is  such  as  to  prevent  the  rapid 
separation  of  the  curd,  it  is  too  viscous  to  permit  the  hydrometer 


DETERMINATION   OF    SPECIFIC   GRAVITY  605 

to  find  its  equilibrium  in  a  reasonable  length  of  time.  It  is  advisable, 
therefore,  to  resort  to  the  gravimetric,  or  picnometer  method  of 
determining  the  specific  gravity  in  cream  and  in  buttermilk. 

Gravimetric  Determination. — This  consists  of  the  filling  of 
a  perfectly  dry  picnometer  or  other  graduated  flask  of  known  meas- 
ure with  milk  at  the  standard  temperature  (60°  F.,  or  15.5°  C.)  and 
weighing  the  flask  and  contents.  The  weight  of  the  flask  is  then 
deducted  from  the  weight  of  the  flask  plus  contents  and  the  differ- 
ence is  divided  by  the  weight  of  an  equal  volume  of  water  at  stand- 
ard temperature.  The  result  is  the  specific  gravity  of  the  milk. 

The  Westphal  balance  method  furnishes  another  accurate  means 
of  determining  the  specific  gravity.  Both  the  gravimetric  method 
and  the  Westphal  balance  method,  while  accurate  when  operated 
by  the  skillful  chemist,  require  considerable  time.  Experimental 
comparisons  have  demonstrated  that  for  all  practical  purposes  of 
testing  milk  and  skim  milk  the  Quevenne  hydrometer,  when  accu- 
rately graduated,  yields  correct  results,  and  the  simplicity  and  rap- 
idity of  its  operation  render  its  use  in  the  determination  of  specific 
gravity  of  milk  and  skim  milk  highly  advantageous  and  satisfactory. 

Weight  of  One  Gallon  of  Butterfat,  Water,  Milk,  Skim  Milk 
and  Cream  in  Pounds. — In  the  standardization  of  milk  and  cream 
it  is  necessary  to  know  the  amount  of  milk  and  cream  by  weight  in 
pounds  and  not  by  measure  in  gallons.  In  American  creameries 
the  weight  of  milk  and  cream  is  frequently  not  definitely  known. 
For  the  convenience  of  the  operator,  therefore,  a  table  is  here  given 
showing  the  weight  per  gallon  of  these  liquids  at  a  temperature 
of  approximately  60°  F. 

The  weight  of  one  gallon  of  cream  obviously  varies  with  its 
butterfat  content.  As  the  cream  increases  in  richness,  its  specific 
gravity  is  lowered  and  its  weight  per  gallon  decreases.  The  weight 
of  one  gallon  of  cream  or  any  other  liquid  is  determined  by  multiply- 
ing the  weight  of  one  gallon  of  water,  which  is  8.3389,  by  the  spe- 
cific gravity  of  the  liquid  in  question.  For  example,  skim  milk  has 
an  average  specific  gravity  of  about  1.036.  One  gallon  of  skim 
milk  therefore  weighs  1.036  X  8.3389  =  8.6391  Ibs. 

The  specific  gravities  of  cream  of  different  richnesses  were  cal- 
culated by  the  following  formula  adopted  by  and  secured  through 
the  courtesy  of  Professor  E.  H.  Farrington1 : 

i  Farrington,  by  correspondence,  1916. 


606 


DETERMINATION  OF  SPECIFIC  GRAVITY 


Table  102.— Specific  Gravity  at  60°  F.  and  Weight  in  Pounds,  of 
One  Gallon,  of  Butterfat,  Water,  Milk,  Skim  Milk  and  Cream. 


Kind   of   Liquid 


Specific 

Gravity 

at  60°  F. 


Weight  of 

one  Gallon 

Pounds 


Butterfat    0.9300 

Water   1.0000 

Milk  average 1.0320 

Skim    milk   average 1.0360 

Cream,   10  per  cent  fat 1.0243 

15  "  "  "   1.0186 

16  "  "  "    1.0174 

17  "  "  "    1.0163 

18  "  "  "   1.0152 

19  "  "  "    1.0140 

20  "  "  "    1.0129 

21  "  "  "   1.0118 

22  "  "  "    1.0107 

23  *  "  "    1.0096 

24  "  "  "   1.0085 

25  "  "  "    1.0073 

26  "  "  "    1.0062 

27  "  "  " 1.0051 

28  "  "  "    1.0040 

29  "  rt  "    1.0029 

30  "  "  "    1.0017 

31  "  "  "    .... 1.0006 

32  u  "  "    0.9995 

33  "  "  "    0.9984 

34  "  "  "    0.9973 

35  "  "  "    0.9963 

36  "  "  -    0.9952 

37  "  "  "    0.9941 

38  "  "  "    0.9930 

39  "  "  "    0.9919 

40  "  "  " 0.9908 

41  "  "  "    0.9897 

42  "  "  "    0.9886 

43  "  "    •  "    0.9875 

44  "  "  "   0.9864 

45  "  "  «   0.9854 

46  "  "  "   0.9843 

47  "  "  "    0.9832 

48  "  "  «   0.9821 

49  "  "  "  .  0.9811 


8.3389 
8.6057 
8.6391 
8.5417 
8.4938 
8.4843 
8.4749 
8.4654 
8.4560 
8.4465 
8.4372 
8.4278 
8.4184 
8.4090 
8.3997 
8.3905 
8.3812 
8.3719 
8.3626 
8.3534 
8.3443 
8.3352 
8.3260 
8.3168 
8.3076 
8.2985 
8.2894 
8.2804 
8.2714' 
8.2624 
8.2534 
8.2444 
8.2354 
8.2265 
8.2176 
8.2087 
8.1998 
8.1909 
8.1821 


DETERMINATION  OF  SPECIFIC  GRAVITY 
Table  102. — Continued. 


607 


Kind  of  Liquid 

Specific 
Gravity 
at  60°  F. 

Weight  of 
one  Gallon 
Pounds 

50     "        "       "         

09801 

81733 

51     "        "       "   

0.9790 

8.1646 

52     "        "       "   

09780 

8.1558 

53     "        "       "    

0.9770 

8.1470 

54     "        "       "   

0.9760 

81382 

55     "       "      "     .. 

09749 

8  1294 

56    "       "       "   

09738 

81207 

ry       «           «          ,. 

0.9728 

8.1121 

58    "        "       "   

0.9718 

8.1035 

59     "        "       "   

0.9707 

8.0948 

60     "        "       "   

0.9637 

8.0861 

70    "        "       "    

09595 

80007 

80     "        "       "   

0.9494 

79172 

90     "        "       "... 

09396 

78353 

100     "        "       "    . 

0.9300 

7.7552 

Specific  gravity  of  fat  at  15°  C.,  .93. 

Specific  gravity  of  fat-free  serum  at  15°  C.  =  1.036. 

F  =  per  cent  of  fat  in  any  cream. 

100  —  F  =  per  cent  of  serum. 

Volume  of  fat  in  100  grams  of  cream  =  — c.c. 

100-F 


Volume  of  serum  in  the  same  cream  = 


1.036 


c.c. 


Volume  of  100  grams  of  cream  must  equal  the  sum  of  the  above 

F     ,     100-F 
quantities,  or  -^ +-T5^-cc. 

Since  volume  in  cubic  centimeters  multiplied  by  the    specific 
gravity  equals  the  weight  in  grams 

(F         100-F  \ 
"93"+    1036    )  X  sPecific^ravity  of  cream  =100. 

By  reduction  the  following  formula  is  obtained  : 

Q      •*  f  96.348 

Specific  gravity  of  cream  —  93    »     195  p 

The  values  in  the  Table   102  are  theoretical  and  apply  only 
to  cream  free  from  air,  in  which  the  specific  gravities  of  fat  and 


608*  DETERMINATION  OF  TOTAI,  SOLIDS 

serum  conform  to  the  above  assumptions.  The  actual  weights  found 
in  most  cases  will  be  somewhat  less  than  the  weights  given  in  the 
table  because  of  the  varying  amounts  of  air  in  the  cream.  They  are 
calculated  on  the  bases  of  a  temperature  of  approximately  60°  F. 
Cream  at  a  higher  temperature  will  weigh  slightly  less  and  cream  at 
a  lower  temperature  will  weigh  slightly  more. 

DETERMINATION  OF  TOTAL  SOLIDS  IN  MILK,  SKIM 
MILK,  CREAM  AND   BUTTERMILK 

By  Means  of  the  Babcock  Formula. — For  rapid  and  reason- 
ably accurate  work  the  total  sglids  of  milk  may  be  determined  by 
the  use  of  the  Babcock  formula,  which  is  as  follows : 

Total  solids  —  -^  +  1.2  X  f. 
L  =  Quevenne  lactometer  reading, 
f  =  per  cent  of  fat. 

Example :  Lactometer  reading  is  32 ;  per  cent  fat  is  4. 

32 
Total  solids  =-j-+  1.2  X  4=  12.8  per  cent. 

For  the  determination  of  the  solids  not  fat  use  the  formula : 

-^+.2xf.  =  per  cent   solids  not   fat. 
or  deduct  the  per  cent  fat  from  the  per  cent  total  solids. 

The  Babcock  formula  for  the  determination  of  total  solids  and 
solids  not  fat  is  applicable  only  to  milk  and  skim  milk.  For  cream 
and  buttermilk  the  gravimetric  method  is  recommended.  See  also 
Table  103,  showing  per  cent  total  solids  in  milk  and  skim  milk  when 
per  cent  fat  and  lactometer  reading  are  known. 

Gravimetric  Method. — "Heat  from  three  to  five  grams  of  milk, 
skim  milk  or  buttermilk  at  the  temperature  of  boiling  water  until  it 
ceases  to  lose  weight,  using  a  tared  flat  dish  of  not  less  than  5  c.c. 
diameter.  If  desired,  from  fifteen  to  twenty  grams  of  pure,  dry 
sand  may  be  previously  placed  in  the  dish.  Cool  in  a  desiccator 
and  weigh  rapidly  to  avoid  absorption  of  hygroscopic  moisture.  In 
the  case  of  cream  use  only  two  to  three  grams  of  sample." 


DETERMINATION   OF   ToTAI,    SOUDS 


609 


Table   103.— Per  Cent  Total  Solids,  When  Per  Cent  Fat  and 
Quevenne  Lactometer  Reading  at  60°  F.  are  Known, 


Quevenne  Lactometer  Reading  at  60°  F. 

Fat 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31 

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 

per 
cent 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

0.0 

6.50 

6.75 

7.00 

7.25 

7.50 

7.75 

8.00 

8.25 

8.50 

8.75 

9.00 

0.1 

6.62 

6.87 

7.12 

7.37 

7.62 

7.87 

8.12 

8.37 

8.62 

8.87 

9.12 

0.2 

6.74 

6.99 

7.24 

7.49 

7.74 

7.99 

8.24 

8.49 

8.74 

8.99 

9.24 

0.3 

6.86 

7.11 

7.36 

7.61 

7.86 

8.11 

8.36 

8.66 

8.86 

9.11 

9.36 

0.4 

6.98 

7.23 

7.48 

7.73 

7.98 

8.23 

8.48 

8.73 

8.98 

9.23 

9.48 

0.5 

7.10 

7.35 

7.60 

7.85 

8.10 

8.35 

8.60 

8.85 

9.10 

9.35 

9.60 

0.6 

7.22 

7.47 

7.72 

7.97 

8.22 

8.47 

8.72 

8.97 

9.22 

9.47 

9.72 

0.7 

7.34 

7.59 

7.84 

8.09 

8.34 

8.59 

8.84 

9.09 

9.34 

9.59 

9.84 

0.8 

7.46 

7.71 

7.96 

8.21 

8.46 

8.71 

8.96 

9.21 

9.46 

9.71 

9.96 

0.9 

7.58 

7.83 

8.08 

8.33 

8.58 

8.83 

9.08 

9.33 

9.58 

9.83 

10.08 

.0 

7.70 

7.95 

8.20 

8.45 

8.70 

8.95 

9.20 

9.45 

9.70 

9.95 

10.20 

.1 

7.82 

8.07 

8.32 

8.57 

8.82 

9.07 

9.32 

9.57 

9.82 

10.07 

10.32 

.2 

7.94 

8.19 

8.44 

8.69 

8.94 

9.19 

9.44 

9.69 

9.94 

10.19 

10.44 

.3 

8.06 

8.31 

8.56 

8.81 

9.06 

9.31 

9.56 

9.81 

10.06 

10.31 

10.56 

.4 

8.18 

843 

8.68 

8.93 

9.18 

9.43 

9.68 

9.93 

10.18 

10.43 

10.68 

.5 

8.30 

8.55 

8.80 

9.05 

9.30 

9.55 

9.80 

10.05 

10.30 

10.55 

10.80 

.6 

8.42 

8.67 

8.92 

9.17 

9.42 

9.67 

9.92 

10.17 

10.42 

10.67 

10.92 

.7 

8.54 

8.79 

9.04 

9.29 

9.54 

9.79 

10.04 

10.29 

10.54 

10.79 

11.04 

1.8 

8.66 

8.91 

9.16 

9.41 

9.66 

9.91 

10.16 

10.41 

10.66 

10.91 

11.17 

1.9 

8.78 

9.03 

9.28 

9.53 

9.78 

10.03 

10.28 

10.53 

10.78 

11.03 

11.29 

2.0 

8.90 

9.15 

9.40 

9.65 

9.90 

10.15 

10.40 

10.66 

10.91 

11.16 

11.41 

2.1 

9.02 

9.27 

9.52 

9.77 

10.02 

10.27 

10.52 

10.78 

11.03 

11.28 

11.53 

2.2 

9.14 

9.39 

9.64 

9.89 

10.14 

10.39 

10.64 

10.90 

11.15 

11.40 

11.65 

2.3 

9.26 

9.51 

9.76 

10.01 

10.26 

10.51 

10.76 

11.02 

11.27 

11.52 

11.77 

2.4 

9.38 

9.63 

9.88 

10.13 

10  38 

10.63 

10.88 

11.14 

11.39 

11.64 

11.89 

2.5 

9.50 

9.75 

10.00 

10.25 

10.50 

10.75 

11.00 

11.26 

11.51 

11.76 

12.01 

2.6 

9.62 

9.87 

10.12 

10.37 

10.62 

10.87 

11.12 

11.38 

11.63 

11.88 

12.13 

2.7 

9.74 

9.99 

10.24 

10.49 

10.74 

10.99 

11.24 

11.50 

11.75 

12.00 

12.25 

2.8 

9.86 

10.11 

10.36 

10.61 

10.86 

11.11 

11.37 

11.62 

11.87 

12.12 

12.37 

2.9 

9.98 

10.23 

10.48 

10.73 

10.98 

11.23 

11.49 

11.74 

11.99 

12.24 

12.49 

3.0 

10.10 

10.35 

10.60 

10.85 

11.10 

11.36 

11.61 

11.86 

12.11 

12.36 

12.61 

3.1 

10.22 

10.47 

10.72 

10.97 

11.23 

11.48 

11.73 

11.98 

12.23 

12.48 

12.74 

3.2 

10.34 

10.59 

10.84 

11.09 

11.35 

11.60 

11.85 

12.10 

12.35 

12.61 

12.86 

3.3 

10.46 

10.71 

10.96 

11.22 

11.47 

11.72 

11.97 

12.22 

12.48 

12.73 

12.98 

3.4 

10.58 

10.83 

11.09 

11.34 

11.59 

11.84 

12.09 

12.34 

12.60 

12.85 

13.10 

3.5 

10.70 

10.95 

11.21 

11.46 

11.71 

11.96 

12.21 

12.46 

12.72 

12.97 

13.22 

3.6 

10.82 

11.08 

11.33 

11.58 

11.83 

12.08 

12.33 

12.58 

12.84 

13.09 

13.34 

3.7 

10.94 

11.20 

11.45 

11.70 

11.95 

12.20 

12.45 

12.70 

12.96 

13.21 

13.46 

3.8 

11.06 

11.32 

11.57 

11.82 

12.07 

12.32 

12.57 

12.82 

13.08 

13.33 

13.58 

3.9 

11.18 

11.44 

11.69 

11.94 

12.19 

12.44 

12.69 

12.94 

13.20 

13.45 

13.70 

4.0 

11.30 

11.56 

11.81 

12.06 

12.31 

12.56 

12.81 

13.06 

13.32 

13.57 

13.83 

4.1 

11.42 

11.68 

11.93 

12.18 

12.43 

12.68 

12.93 

13.18 

13.44 

13.69 

13.95 

4.2 

11.54 

11.80 

12.05 

12.30 

12.55 

12.80 

13.05 

13.31 

13.56 

13.82 

14.07 

4.3 

11.66 

11.92 

12.17 

12.42 

12.67 

12.92 

13.18 

13.43 

13.68 

13.94 

14.19 

4.4 

11.78 

12.04 

12.29 

12.54 

12.79 

13.04 

13.30 

13.55 

13.80 

14.06 

14.31 

4.5 

11.90 

12.16 

12.41 

12.66 

12.91 

13.16 

13.42 

13.67 

13.92 

14.18 

14.43 

4.6 

12.03 

12.28 

12.53 

12.78 

13.03 

13.28 

13.54 

13.79 

14.04 

14.30 

14.55 

4.7 

12.15 

12.40 

12.65 

12.90 

13.15 

13.40 

13.66 

13.91 

14.16 

14.42 

14.67 

4.8 

12.27 

12.52 

12.77 

13.02 

13.27 

13.52 

13.78 

14.03 

14.28 

14.54 

14.79 

4.9 

12.39 

12.64 

12.89 

13.14 

13.39 

13.64 

13.90 

14.15 

14.40 

14.66 

14.91 

610 


TESTING   FOR   BUTTERFAT 

Table  103. — Continued. 


Quevenne  Lactometer  Reading  at  60°  F. 

Fat 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31 

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 

per 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total 

Total' 

cent 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

solids 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

per 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

cent 

5.0 

12.51 

12.76 

13.01 

13.26 

13.51 

13.76 

14.02 

14.27 

14.52 

14.78 

15.03 

5.1 

12.63 

12.88 

13.13 

13.38 

13.63 

13.89 

14.14 

14.39 

14.64 

14.90 

15.15 

5.2 

12.75 

13.00 

13.25 

13.50 

13.75 

14.01 

14.26 

14.51 

14.76 

15.02 

15.27 

5.3 

12.87 

13.12 

13.37 

13.62 

13.87 

14.13 

14.38 

14.63 

14.88 

15.14 

15.39 

5.4 

12.99 

13.24 

13.49 

13.74 

14.00 

14.25 

14.50 

14.76 

15.01 

15.26 

15.51 

5.5 

13.11 

13.36 

13.61 

13.86 

14.12 

14.37 

14.62 

14.88 

15.13 

15.38 

15.63 

5.6 

13.23 

13.48 

13.73 

13.99 

14.24 

14.49 

14.75 

15.00 

15.25 

15.50 

15.75 

5.7 

13.35 

13.60 

13.85 

14.11 

14.36 

14.61 

14.87 

15.12 

15.37 

15.62 

15.87 

5.8 

13.47 

13.72 

13.97 

14.23 

14.48 

14.74 

14.99 

15.24 

15.49 

15.74 

15.99 

5.9 

13.59 

13.84 

14.10 

14.35 

14.60 

14.86 

15.11 

15.36 

15.61 

15.86 

16.12 

6.0 

13.71 

13.96 

14.22 

14.47 

14.72 

14.98 

15.23 

15.48 

15.73 

15.98 

16.24 

6.1 

13.83 

14.08 

14.34 

14.59 

14.84 

15.10 

15.35 

15.60 

15.85 

16.10 

16.35 

6.2 

13.95 

14.20 

14.46 

14.71 

14.96 

15.22 

15.47 

15.72 

15.97 

16.22 

16.48 

6.3 

14.07 

14.32 

14.58 

14.83 

15.08 

15.34 

15.59 

15.84 

16.09 

16.34 

16.60 

6.4 

14.19 

14.44 

14.70 

14.96 

15.20 

15.46 

15.71 

15.96 

16.21 

16.46 

16.72 

6.5 

14.31 

14.56 

14.82 

15.08 

15.32 

15.58 

15.83 

16.08 

16.33 

16.58 

16.84 

6.6 

14.43 

14.68 

14.94 

15.20 

15.44 

15.70 

15.95 

16.20 

16.45 

16.70 

16.96 

6.7 

14.55 

14.80 

15.06 

15.32 

15.56 

15.82 

16.07 

16.32 

16.57 

16.82 

17.08 

6.8 

14.67 

14.92 

15.18 

15.44 

15.68 

15.94 

16.19 

16.44 

16.69 

16.94 

17.20 

6.9 

14.79 

15.04 

15.30 

15.56 

15.80 

16.06 

16.31 

16.56 

16.81 

17.06 

17.32 

TESTING  MILK,   CREAM,   SKIM   MILK   AND   BUTTER- 
MILK FOR  BUTTERFAT 
Volumetric  Methods 
The  Babcock  Test 

Principle  of  Babcock  Test. — The  principle  of  the  Babcock  test 
is  based  on  the  fact  that  when  sulphuric  acid  in  sufficient  strength 
and  amount  is  added  to  milk,  cream  or  other  dairy  product,  the  acid 
breaks  down  the  non-fatty  constituents  without  materially  affecting 
the  fat.  The  action  of  the  acid,  together  with  the  heat  generated, 
destroys  the  emulsion  of  fat-in-milk  serum,  causing  the  fat  to  sep- 
arate out.  The  completeness  of  this  separation  is  facilitated  by  sub- 
jecting the  mixture  of  acid  and  milk  to  centrifugal  force. 

In  order  to  make  possible  the  ready  measurement  of  this  prac- 
tically pure,  separated  fat  in  terms  of  per  cent,  the  neck  of  the  test 
bottle,  in  which  the  fat  appears  in  the  finished  test,  is  graduated. 
Each  one  per  cent  graduation  has  a  capacity  of  .2  cubic  centimeter. 
The  specific  gravity  of  butterfat  at  about  135  degrees  F.,  which  is 
the  temperature  at  which  the  test  is  read,  averages  .9.  The  .2  cubic 
centimeter  of  butterfat  therefore  weighs  .2  X  .9  =  .18  grams.  In 


TKSTING  FOR  BUTTERFAT  611 

order  to  have  .18  grams  butterfat  represent  1  per  cent  of  the  milk 
or  cream  tested,  .18  X  100  or  18  grams  of  milk  or  cream  must  be 
used. 

In  the  case  of  milk,  the  sample,  for  convenience's  sake,  is 
measured,  instead  of  weighed  into  the  test  bottle.  The  average 
specific  gravity  of  milk  is  1.032.  Hence  18  grams  of  milk  have  a 

1 8 
volume  of  y-?)T2    or   ^>44  cubic  centimeters.     But  when  milk  is 

poured  from  the  pipette,  approximately  .15  c.c.  remain  in  the  pipette 
and  fail  to  be  discharged  into  the  test  bottle.  For  this  reason  a 
poured  from  the  pipette,  approximately  .15  c.c.  remain  in  the  pipette 
delivers  18  grams  of  milk. 

In  the  case  of  cream,  the  specific  gravity  varies  very  greatly 
with  the  richness  of  the  cream  and  the  amount  of  foam  it  contains, 
hence  the  measuring  of  the  cream  into  the  test  bottle  introduces 
considerable  error.  For  this  reason  the  cream  is  weighed,  and  not 
measured,  into  the  test  bottle,  using  18  grams.  In  the  course  of  the 
development  of  the  Babcock  test  for  cream,  it  was  found  desirable 
to  reduce  the  charge  of  cream  used  for  the  test  from  18  grams  to  9 
grams,  and  accordingly  the  percentage  graduation  in  these  cream 
test  bottles  was  modified  to  the  effect  that  each  1  per  cent  of  the 
graduation  has  a  capacity  of  .1  cubic  centimeter  which  corresponds 
to  .09  grams  of  butterfat.  In  the  use  of  these  so-called  9  gram 
cream  test  bottles,  therefore,  .09  X  100,  or  9  grams  of  cream  are 
weighed  into  the  test  bottle  and  the  graduation  again  represents  per 
cent. 

SPECIFICATIONS   FOR  STANDARD   APPARATUS  AND 

CHEMICALS   FOR   TESTING   MILK   AND   CREAM 

FOR  BUTTERFAT  BY  THE  BABCOCK  TEST1 

1.    Apparatus  and  Chemicals. 

Milk  Test  Bottle. — 8  per  cent  18  gram  milk  test  bottle,  gradu- 
ated to  0.1  per  cent.  Graduation — The  total  per  cent  graduation 
shall  be  8.  The  graduated  portion  of  the  neck  shall  have  a  length 
of  not  less  than  63.5  mm.  (2y2  inches).  The  graduation  shall  repre- 
sent whole  per  cent,  five-tenths  per  cent  and  tenths  per  cent.  The 
tenths  per  cent  graduations  shall  not  be  less  than  3  mm.  in  length ; 
the  five-tenths  per  cent  graduations  shall  be  1  mm.  longer  than  the 

1  Hunziker,  Journal  of  Dairy  Science,  Vol.  I,  No.  1,  May,  1917. 


612  TESTING  FOR  BUTTERFAT 

tenths  per  cent  graduations,  projecting  1  mm.  to  the  left  ;  the  whole 
per  cent  graduation  shall  extend  at  least  one-half  way  around  the 
neck  to  the  right  and  projecting  2  mm.  to  the  left  of  the  tenths  per 
cent  graduations.  Each  per  cent  graduation  shall  be  numbered,  the 
number  being  placed  on  the  left  of  the  scale. 

The  maximum  error  in  the  total  graduation  or  in  any  part  there- 
of shall  not  exceed  the  volume  of  the  smallest  unit  of  the  graduation. 

Neck.  —  The  neck  shall  be  cylindrical  and  of  uniform  internal 
diameter  throughout.  The  cylindrical  part  of  the  neck  shall  extend 
at  least  5  mm.  below  the  lowest  and  above  the  highest  graduation 
mark.  The  top  of  the  neck  shall  be  flared  to  a  diameter  of  not  less 
than  10  mm. 

Bulb.  —  The  capacity  of  the  bulb  up  to  the  junction  of  the  neck 
shall  be  not  less  than  45  cc.  The  shape  of  the  bulb  may  be  either 
cylindrical  or  conical  with  the  smallest  diameter  at  the  bottom.  If 
cylindrical,  the  outside  diameter  shall  be  between  34  and  36  mm.  ; 
if  conical,  the  outside  diameter  of  the  base  shall  be  between  31  and 
33  mm.,  and  the  maximum  diameter  between  35  and  37  mm. 

The  charge  of  the  bottle  shall  be  18  grams. 

The  total  height  of  the  bottle  shall  be  between  150  and  165  mm. 
and  6j^  inches). 


Cream  Test  Bottle  1.  —  50  per  cent  9  gram  short-neck  cream 
test  bottle,  graduated  to  0.5  per  cent.  Graduation  —  the  total  per 
cent  graduation  shall  be  50.  The  graduated  portion  of  the  neck  shall 
have  a  length  of  not  less  than  63.5  mm.  (2T/2  inches).  The  gradu- 
ation shall  represent  5  per  cent,  1  per  cent,  and  0.5  per  cent.  The 
5  per  cent  graduations  shall  extend  at  least  half-way  around  the 
neck  (to  the  right).  The  0.5  per  cent  graduations  shall  be  at  least 
3  mm.  in  length,  and  the  1  per  cent  graduations  shall  have  a  length 
intermediate  between  the  5  per  cent  and  the  0.5  per  cent  graduations. 
Each  5  per  cent  graduation  shall  be  numbered,  the  number  being 
placed  on  the  left  of  the  scale. 

The  maximum  error  in  the  total  graduation  or  in  any  part 
thereof  shall  not  exceed  the  volume  of  the  smallest  unit  of  the 
graduation. 

Neck.  —  The  neck  shall  be  cylindrical  and  of  uniform  internal 
diameter  throughout.  The  cylindrical  part  of  the  neck  shall  extend 


TESTING  FOR  BUTT.SRFAT  613 

at  least  5  mm.  below  the  lowest  and  above  the  highest  graduation 
mark.  The  top  of  the  neck  shall  be  flared  to  a  diameter  of  not  less 
than  10  mm. 

Bulb. — The  capacity  of  the  bulb  up  to  the  junction  of  the  neck 
shall  not  be  less  than  45  cc.  The  shape  of  the  bulb  may  be  either 
cylindrical  or  conical  with  the  smallest  diameter  at  the  bottom.  If 
cylindrical,  the  outside  diameter  shall  be  between  34  and  36  mm. ;  if 
conical,  the  outside  diameter  of  the  base  shall  be  between  31  and  33 
mm.  and  the  maximum  diameter  between  35  and  37  mm. 

The  charge  of  the  bottle  shall  be  9  grams.  All  bottles  shall 
bear  on  top  of  the  neck  above  the  graduations,  in  plainly  legible 
characters,  a  mark  defining  the  weight  of  the  charge  to  be  used  (9 
grams). 

The  total  height  of  the  bottle  shall  be  between  150  and  165  mm. 
(5%  and  6l/2  inches),  same  as  standard  milk  test  bottles. 

Cream  Test  Bottle  2. — 50  per  cent  9  gram  long-neck-cream  test 
bottle,  graduated  to  0.5  per  cent.  The  same  specifications  in  every 
detail -as  specified  for  the  50  per  cent  9  gram  short-neck  bottle  shall 
apply  for  the  long-neck  bottle  with  the  exception,  however,  that  the 
total  height  of  this  bottle  shall  be  between  210  and  235  mm.  (8% 
and  9  inches),  that  the  total  length  of  the  graduation  shall  be  not 
less  than  120  mm.,  and  that  the  maximum  error  in  the  total  gradua- 
tion or  in  any  part  thereof  shall  not  exceed  50  per  cent  of  the  volume 
of  the  smallest  unit  of  the  graduation. 

Cream  Test  Bottle  3. — 50  per  cent  18  gram  long-neck  cream 
test  bottle,  graduated  to  0.5  per  cent.  The  same  specifications  in 
every  detail  as  specified  for  the  50  per  cent  9  gram  long-neck  bottle 
shall  also  apply  for  the  18  gram  long-neck  bottle,  except  that  the 
charge  of  the  bottle  shall  be  18  grams.  All  bottles  shall  bear  on  top 
of  the  neck  above  the  graduation,  in  plainly  legible  characters,  a 
mark  defining  the  weight  of  the  charge  to  be  used  (18  grams). 

Pipette,  capacity  17.6  cc.  Total  length  of  pipette  not  more  than 
330  mm.  (13J4  inches).  Outside  diameter  of  suction  tube  6  to  8 
mm.  Length  of  suction  tube,  130  mm.  Outside  diameter  of  deliv- 
ery tube,  4.5  to  5.5  mm.  Length  of  delivery  tube,  100  to  120  mm. 
Distance  of  graduation  mark  above  bulb,  15  to  45  mm.  Nozzle 
straight.  To  deliver  its  contents  when  filled  to  the  mark  with  water 
at  20°  C.,  in  five  to  eight  seconds.  The  maximum  error  shall  not 
exceed  0.05  cc. 

Acid  measure,  capacity  17.5  cc. 


614  TESTING  FOR  BUTTERFAT 

Cream  Testing  Scales. — Sensibility  reciprocal  of  30  mgm.,  i.  e.» 
the  addition  of  30  mgm.  to  the  scales,  when  loaded  to  capacity,  shall 
cause  a  deflection  of  the  pointer  of  at  least  one  division  on  the  gradu- 
ation. 

Weights. — 9  gram  weights  for  9  gram  cream  test  bottles  and 
18  gram  weights  for  18  gram  cream  test  bottles,  preferably 
stamped  correct  by  the  United  States  or  State  Bureau  of  Stand- 
ards. 

Tester. — Standard  Babcock  test  centrifuge  and  speed  in- 
dicator. 

Dividers  for  measuring  fat  column. 

Water  bath  for  cream  samples,  with  proper  arrangement  for 
regulating  and  recording  temperature  of  samples. 

Water  bath  for  test  bottles,  of  sufficient  size  and  with  neces- 
sary equipment  to  insure  proper  control  of  temperature.  The  fol- 
lowing dimensions  for  a  twenty-four  bottle  water  bath  are  recom- 
mended: Metal  box,  14  inches  long,  11  inches  wide,  and  S1/^  inches 
deep  and  equipped  with  a  bottle  basket  9l/2  inches  long  and  6l/2  inches 
wide,  capacity  twenty-four  bottles,  a  steam  and  water  inlet,  a  drain, 
a  thermometer  holder  with  thermometer. 

Chemicals. — Commercial  sulphuric  acid,  specific  gravity  1.82 
to  1.83 ;  glymol,  or  white  mineral  oil,  high  grade. 

OPERATION  OF  THE  BABCOCK  TEST 
Milk  Test 

Milk  Samples. — The  sampling  of  milk  is  fully  discussed  in 
Chapter  VI  on  "Receiving  Milk  and  Cream." 

Preparation  of  Milk  Sample  for  the  Test. — Before  testing,  the 
samples  should  be  brought  to  the  proper  temperature;  this  may 
range  from  55  degrees  to  70  degrees  F.  If  the  samples  have  been 
exposed  to  summer  heat  or  to  temperatures  near  the  freezing  point, 
the  sample  bottles  are  best  set  into  a  tank,  sink,  or  tub  and  allowed 
to  stand  in  water  at  about  60  degrees  F.  until  the  temperature  of  the 
milk  is  neither  below  55  degrees  F.  nor  above  70  degrees  F. 

If  to  be  transported  by  mail,  express,  or  otherwise,  the  sample 
bottle  should  be  completely  full  and  tightly  stoppered  and  the  sam- 
ples should  be  preserved  as  previously  directed,  see  Chapter  VI. 

The  contents  of  each  bottle  must  be  thoroughly  mixed  before 


TESTING  FOR  BUTTERFAT 


615 


pipetting  into  the  test  bottle.  If  the  composite  sample  has  received 
the  proper  care,  as  directed  in  Chapter  VI,  the  gentle  shaking  of  the 
sample  bottle  and  the  pouring  of  the  contents  from  one  bottle  to 
another  several  times  should  be  sufficient. 


I--""-"-.-:  "-""_--   -' 


Fig-.    88  Pig-.    89  Fig-.    90  Fig-.    91 

Standard  Babcock  Milk  and  Cream  Test  Bottles 

Courtesy  Louis  F.  Nafis 

Samples  containing  lumps  of  cream  or  granules  of  butter  cannot 
be  tested  properly  without  extra  preparation.  They  should  be 
heated  to  at  least  110  degrees  F.,  or  until  all  lumps  of  butterfat 
have  melted  and  disappeared ;  they  should  then  be  shaken  vigorously 
and  pipetted  into  the  test  bottle  at  once.  Even  with  this  precaution 
it  is  difficult  to  transfer  to  the  test  bottle  a  representative  portion 


616  TESTING  FOR  BUTTERFAT 

from  such  a  sample.  Avoid  incorporation  of  air  bubbles  while 
mixing  the  sample. 

Curdy  and  churned  samples  are  not  dependable.  Sour  and  curdy 
samples  should  be  treated  as  follows:  add  one-half  teaspoonful  of 
soda  lye  or  potash  lye,  shake,  and  let  stand  until  all  lumps  of  curd 
have  disappeared.  The  sample  is  then  ready  for  the  test.  When 
testing  samples  to  which  soda  lye  or  other  alkali  has  been  added,  the 
acid  should  be  added  slowly  and  carefully  to  avoid  accidents  and  to 
prevent  the  loss  of  a  portion  of  the  contents  of  the  bottle  by  exces- 
sive effervescence. 

Measuring  the  Milk  Into  the  Test  Bottle. — Use  standard  milk 
test  bottles  and  a  standard  17.6  cubic  centimeter  pipette.  Measure 
17.6  cubic  centimeters  (representing  18  grams)  of  the  properly 
prepared  sample  into  the  test  bottle.  In  order  to  do  this  rapidly, 
and  without  spilling,  the  delivery  tube  of  the  standard  pipette 
has  been  constructed  of  such  diameter,  that  this  tube  readily 
drops  into  the  neck  of  the  standard  "8  per  cent  milk  test 
bottle.  Hence  drop  the  delivery  tube  of  the  pipette  into  the 
neck  of  the  test  bottle  until  the  bulb  of  the  pipette  rests  on  the 
neck  of  the  bottle,  then  release  the  milk.  Blow  the  last  drop  of 
milk  out  of  the  pipette  before  removing  it  from  the  bottle.  Mark 
each  bottle  with  a  number  corresponding  with  the  number  of  the 
respective  patron  on  the  sample  bottle.  The  marking  is  best  done 
with  an  ordinary  lead  pencil  on  the  etched  shoulder  of  the  test  bot- 
tle^ Or  equip  the  test  bottles  with  metal  tags  which  bear  consecu- 
tive numbers.  Slip  one  tag  over  the  neck  of  each  test  bottle.  In 
this  case  the  test  bottle  number  may  and  usually  does  differ  from 
the  patron's  number  shown  on  the  sample  bottle.  It  is  necessary 
therefore,  to  record  the  test  bottle  number  on  the  test  report  blank 
opposite  the  respective  patron's  name  or  number  at  the  time  of  rill- 
ing each  test  bottle. 

Adding  the  Acid. — Use  commercial  sulphuric  acid,  specific 
gravity  1.82  to  1.83.  The  temperature  of  the  acid  should  be  the 
same  as  that  of  the  milk,  55  degrees  F.  to  70  degrees  F.  In  order 
to  insure  the  proper  temperature  of  the  acid  it  is  advisable  to  set 
the  acid  bottle  into  the  tank  containing  the  milk  sample  bottles. 

Add  17.5  cc.  of  acid  to  the  milk  in  the  test  bottle  and  mix  by 
giving  the  bottle  a  rotary  motion  until  the  lumps  of  curd  are  com- 
pletely dissolved  and  the  mixture  presents  a  brown-black  color.  It 


TESTING  FOR  BUTTERFAT  617 

is  advisable  to  add  the  acid  in  about  three  installments,  shaking  the 
bottle  after  each  addition.  Attention  to  this  precaution  helps  to 
secure  clear  tests. 

WhirEng  and  Adding  Water.— Set  the  test  bottles  into  the 
Babcock  centrifuge.  If  the  test  bottles  containing  the  mixture 
of  milk  and  acid  are  held  over  and  allowed  to  become  cool,  they 
should  be  heated  by  setting  in  hot  water  before  whirling. 

Steam  turbine  and  electric  driven  testers  with  not  less  than 
twenty-four  pockets  are  best  adapted  for  factory  use.  They  are 
constructed  of  two  general  sizes, — those  having  a  twelve-inch  diame- 
ter wheel  and  those  having  an  eighteen-inch  diameter  wheel. 

Table   104. — Correct  Speed  of  Testers  of  Different  Diameters1 
Measuring  from  Pocket  Bottom  to  Opposite  Pocket  Bottom 

Diameter  of  Wheel  Revolutions  of.  Wheel 

Inches  per  Minute 

10  1,074 

12  980 

14  909 

16  848 

18  800 

20  759 

22  724 

24  693 

Fill  the  bottles  to  the  bottom  of  the  neck  with  hot,  soft  water; 
whirl  again  for  two  minutes  and  fill  the  bottles  with  hot,  soft  water 
to  about  the  7  per  cent  mark ;  whirl  for  one  minute.  The  tempera- 
ture of  the  water  added  should  be  not  lower  than  140  degrees  F.  and 
preferably  near  that  of  boiling  water  (212  degrees  F). 

Reading  the  Test. — Place  the  test  bottles  in  a  water  bath  and 
read  after  a  temperature  of  130°  F.  to  140°  F.  has  been  maintained 
for  not  less  than  three  minutes.  Measure  the  fat  column  with  a 
pair  of  dividers,  including  the  meniscus  or  curve,  both  at  the  bottom 
and  at  the  top  of  the  fat  column.  Each  subdivision  represents  .1 
per  cent ;  each  main  division  represents  1  per  cent.  Record  the  per- 
centage of  fat  thus  found  on  the  test  sheet. 

Abnormal  Appearance  of  the  Fat  Column. — When  the  test  is 
made  properly  and  in  accordance  with  above  directions,  the  fat 


Farrington  &  Woll,  Testing  Milk  and  Its  Products. 


618  TESTING  FOR  BUTTDRFAT 

column  is  clear,  translucent,  has  a  golden  yellow  or  amber  color 
and  the  top  and  bottom  curves  are  sharply  denned. 

The  presence  of  whitish  curd  in  or  immediately  below  the  fat 
column  is  the  result  of  excessively  cold  milk  and  acid,  or  the  use  of 
too  little  or  too  weak  acid.  The  presence  of  charred  matter  in  the 
fat  column  is  the  result  of  the  use  of  too  much  or  too  strong  acid,  or 
too  high  a  temperature  of  milk  or  acid,  or  both,  at  the  time  of  adding 
the  acid. 

The  appearance  of  foam  on  the  surface  of  the  fat  column  is 
caused  by  the  use  of  hard  water.  The  carbonates,  when  acted  on 
by  the  sulphuric  acid,  break  down,  liberating  carbon  dioxide  gas 
which,  rising  through  the  fat  column,  gathers  on  its  surface  in  the 
form  of  air  bubbles.  Where  soft  water,  distilled  water,  or  rain 
water  is  not  available,  the  water  may  be  softened  by  boiling  it  or  by 
the  addition  to  it  of  a  few  drops  of  sulphuric  acid  before  use. 

All  tests  which  are  milky,  or  foggy,  showing  the  presence  of 
curd  or  charred  matter  in  or  below  the  fat  column,  or  of  which  the 
reading  is  indistinct  or  uncertain,  should  be  rejected.  Duplicate  tests 
are  essential  in  all  work  where  special  accuracy  of  results  is  required, 
such  as  in  official  testing  and  experimental  investigations. 

Cream  Test 

Cream  samples. — The  taking  of  cream  samples,  at  the  factory, 
at  the  cream  station  and  on  the  cream  route  is  fully  discussed  in 
Chapter  VI  on  "Receiving  Milk  and  Cream." 

Cream  samples  should  be  tested  as  soon  as  possible  and  not 
later  than  three  days  after  they  are  taken.  Composite  samples  rep- 
resenting portions  of  consecutive  deliveries  of  the  same  patron 
are  prone  to  be  unreliable.  Samples  should  at  all  times  be  kept  in 
non-absorptive  containers,  sealed  air-tight  and  held  in  the  cold. 

Immediately  before  testing,  mix  the  sample  until  it  pours  readily 
and  a  uniform  emulsion  is  secured.  If  in  good  condition  shake, 
pour,  stir  or  blow  until  properly  mixed.  If  very  thick,  warm  to 
85  degrees  F.  and  then  mix.  In  case  of  lumps  of  butter,  heat  the 
sample  to  from  100  degrees  F.  to  120  degrees  F.  by  setting  in  water 
bath,  mix  thoroughly  and  weigh  out  at  once.  For  commercial  work 
on  a  large  scale  it  is  advisable  to  temper  all  samples  to  100  degrees 
to  120  degrees  F.  in  a  water  bath  previous  to  mixing.  Great  care 
should  be  exercised  to  avoid  overheating  the  sample,  causing  the 


TESTING  FOR  BUTTERFAT 


619 


Fig*.  93.     Acid  Dipper  for  Cream 


Pig*.  94 

Cream  Pipette  '- 


Lg*.  92 
Standard 
Milk  Pipette 


Pig1.   95 

Combined 

Acid  Bottle  - 


Tig.  96 
Acid  Cylinder 


1  Courtesy  Louis  F.  Naf.s. 

2  Courtesy  Mojonnier  Bros.  Co. 


620  TESTING  #OR 

.-*.*-  • 

creanl  to  "oil  off."  This  precaution  is  especially  necessary  with  thin 
cream. 

Cream  Test  Bottles. — Use  standard  50  per  cent  9-gram  short- 
neck,  or  standard  50  per  cent  9-gram  long-neck,  or  standard  50  per 
cent  18-gram  long-neck  cream  test  bottles.  The  divisions  on  each  of 
the  three  standard  cream  test  bottles  represent  .5  per  cent,  1  per  cent 
and  5  per  cent.  The  5  per  cent  divisions  bear  a  figure  to  the  left  of 
the  graduation. 

Cream  Test  Balances. — Only  high-class  balances  which  are  in 
satisfactory  operating  condition  should  be  used.  The  reliability  of 
the  cream  test  balance  depends  in  the  first  place  on  its  sensitiveness 
and  capacity.  Experiments  conducted  with  different  types  of  cream 
testing  scales  by  Hunziker,  Spitzer  and  Ogle1  showed  the  following 
results  and  conclusions : 

1.  Results  of  tests  of  4623  cream  samples  made  in  commercial 
creameries  show  that  where  the  one-bottle  balances  were  used,  96.43 
per  cent  of  the  tests  checked  with  the  retests  within  .5  per  cent,  while 
the  best  performance  of  the  twelve-bottle  balance  yielded  only  80.43 
per  cent  of  tests  that  checked  with  the  retests. 

2.  Balances  with  a  sensibility  reciprocal  of  .01  to  .03  grams 
produced  tests,  98.2  per  cent  of  which  checked  with  the  retests,  and 
the  average  variation  between  duplicate  tests  was  .119  per  cent. 

3.  Balances  with  a  sensibility  reciprocal  of  .1  gram  yielded  only 
36.1  per  cent  of  tests  which  checked  with  the  retests,  and  the  average 
variation  between  duplicate  tests  was  .993  per  cent. 

4.  The  condition,  care  and  manipulation  of  the  cream  test  bal- 
ance greatly  influence  its  sensitiveness,  reliability  and  length  of  use- 
fulness. 

5.  The  general  adoption  of  standard  cream  test  balances  with 
a  sensibility  reciprocal  of  thirty  milligrams  would  materially  augment 
the  reliability  of  cream  tests. 

6.  Preference  should  be  given  to  small  capacity  balances. 

7.  Balances,  with  a  graduated  beam  which  carries  a  traveling 
poise  are  less  reliable  than  those  with  a  beam  of  equal  arms,  balanc- 
ing in  the  center  and  requiring  the  use  of  separate  weights. 

8.  Balances  of  simple  principle  and  construction  are  generally 
superior  under  average  commercial  conditions,  retain  their  sensi- 
bility reciprocal  longer  and  are  more  durable  than  balances  of  more 
complex  principle  and  construction. 

1  Hunziker,  Spitzer  and  Ogle,  Cream  Testing  Scales,  Purdue  Bulletin  189, 
1916. 


TESTING  FOR  BUTTERFAT  621 

SPECIFICATIONS  AND  TOLERANCES  FOR  STANDARD 
CREAM  TEST  BALANCES 

UNITED  STATES  BUREAU  OF  STANDARDS1 

Definition. — A  cream-test  or  butterfat-test  scale  is  a  scale 
especially  designed  and  adapted  for  determining  the  fat  content 
of  cream  or  butter. 

Specifications. — 1.  All  scales  shall  be  provided  with  a  gradu- 
ated scale  or  arc  divided  into  at  least  10  equal  spaces,  over  which  the 
indicator  shall  play. 

2.  The  clear  interval  between  the  graduations  on  the  graduated 
scale  or  arc  shall  not  be  less  than  0.05  inch. 

3.  The  indicator  shall  be  of  such  length  as  to  reach  to  the  gradu- 
ated divisions  and  shall  terminate  in  a  fine  point  to  enable  the  read- 
ings to  be  made  with  precision. 

4.  All  scales  whose   weight  indications   are   changed   by   an 
amount  greater  than  one-half  the  tolerance  allowed,  when  set  in  any 
position  on  a  surface  making  an  angle  of  5  per  cent  or  approximately 
j  degrees  with  the  horizontal,  shall  be  equipped  with  leveling  screws 
and  with  a  device  which  will  indicate  when  the  scale  is  level.     The 
scale  shall  be  rebalanced  at  zero  each  time  its  position  is  altered  dur- 
ing this  test. 

5.  All  scales  shall  be  so  constructed  and  adjusted  that  when 
the  pans  are  released  or  disturbed,  the  pointer  will  return  to  its  orig- 
inal position  of  equilibrium. 

Sensibility  Reciprocal. — The  maximum  sensibility  reciprocal 
allowable  for  these  scales  shall  not  exceed  one-half  grain,  or  approxi- 
mately 30  milligrams,  when  the  maximum  load  is  placed  upon  the 
scale. 

(The  term  "sensibility  reciprocal"  means  the  weight  required  to 
move  the  position  of  equilibrium  of  the  beam,  pan,  pointer,  or  other 
indicating  device  of  the  scale  a  definite  amount.  In  scales  provided 
with  a  pointer  and  a  graduated  scale  or  arc,  such  as  the  above,  the 
sensibility  reciprocal  is  the  weight  required  to  cause  a  change  in  the 
position  of  rest  of  the  pointer  equal  to  one  division  on  the  graduated 
scale  or  arc.) 

Tolerances. — The  tolerance  to  be  allowed  in  excess  or  de- 
ficiency on  all  cream-test  and  butterfat-test  scales  shall  not  be 

1  United  States  Bureau  of  Standards,  Tolerances  and  Specifications  for 
Weights  and  Measures,  Proceedings  of  Tenth  Annual  Conference  on  the 
Weights  and  Measures  of  the  United  States,  May  25-28,  1915. 


622  TESTING  FOR  BUTTER?  AT 

greater  than  one-half  grain  or  approximately  30  milligrams,  when 
the  scale  is  loaded  to  capacity." 

Manipulation  of  Balance. — .1.  Level  the  balance  each  time  be- 
fore using. 

2.  Adjust  or  balance  the  instrument  immediately  before  weigh- 
ing and  make  sure  that  its  beam  swings  freely  and  does  not  "stick." 

3.  Protect  the  balance  from  air  currents.     If  resting  on  an  open 
bench  have  the  nearest  doors  and  windows  closed.     The  setting  of 
the  balance  in  a  box  large  enough  for  convenient  operation  and  with 
the  near  side  open  is  recommended. 

4.  Use  accurate  weights  only  and  be  sure  that  they  are  clean. 

5.  Don't  release  the  balance  with  a  jerk  so  that  the  pans  strike 
the  rest ;  release  them  easily  and  slowly  and  handle  them  gently  when 
they  are  moved.     Careless  and  rough  handling  may  damage  spring 
bands  and  dull  knife  edges. 

6.  Don't  try  to  use  the  balance  when  out  of  repair. 

7.  Use  painstaking  care  and  reasonable  judgment  in  all  opera- 
tions. 

SPECIFICATIONS  FOR  STANDARD   NINE  AND 
EIGHTEEN   GRAM   WEIGHTS 

1.  Weights  shall  be  made  of  brass  or  aluminum. 

2.  Weights  shall  have  smooth  surfaces  and  no  sharp  points  or 
corners. 

3.  Weights  shall  not  be  covered  with  a  soft  or  thick  coat  of 
paint  or  varnish. 

4.  All  weights  shall  be  clearly  marked  with  their  nominal  value 
i.  e.  9  for  nine  gram  weights  and  18  for  eighteen  gram  weights. 

5.  The   tolerance   shall    be     forty   milligrams    for   nine   gram 
weights  and  fifty  milligrams  for  eighteen  gram  weights.  • 

Weighing  the  Cream  Into  the  Test  Bottle. — The  cream  must 
be  weighed  into  the  test  bottle,  not  measured.  This  is  necessary  in 
order  to  secure  the  correct  amount  by  weight.  Cream  varies  in 
weight  with  its  richness  and  its  mechanical  condition,  and  no  one 
measure  will  hold  the  correct  amount  of  cream  of  varying  richness. 
The  correct  amount  of  cream  by  weight  is  9  grams  or  18  grams, 
respectively. 

Set  the  cream  test  bottles  on  the  scales  and  balance  the  scales 
accurately.  The  cream  is  most  readily  transferred  into  the  test 


TESTING  FOR  BUTTERFAT  623 

bottles  from  the  properly  mixed  sample  by  means  of  a  9  or  18  cc. 
pipette  which  has  a  short,  wide-bore  delivery  tube.  In  this  manner 
spilling  is  readily  avoided  and  the  work  is  most  rapid.  If  any 
cream  is  spilled  over  the  outside  of  the  bottles  or  on  the  balance,  it 
should  be  wiped  off  immediately  and  before  the  weighing  is  com- 
pleted. 

Making  the  Test. — Three  methods  of  performing  the  test  have 
been  adopted  as  standard  methods;  each  of  which,  when  properly 
executed,  insures  accurate  results,  but  methods  II  and  III  are  pre- 


Fig\   97.     Jalco  Electric   Centrifuge  Tig.    98.     Facile    Steam    Turbine 

Courtesy  Jalco  Motor  Co.  Tester 

Courtesy  D.  H.  Burrell  &  Co. 

ferred  to  method  I,  as  they  leave  less  to  the  judgment  of  the  oper- 
ator and  therefore  are  more  nearly  "fool-proof :" 

Method  I.  Add  standard  commercial  sulphuric  acid  until  the 
mixture  of  acid  and  cream,  immediately  after  shaking,  resembles 
in  color,  coffee  with  cream  in  it.  Usually  about  8  to  12  cc.  of 
acid  is  required  in  the  case  of  the  9-gram  bottle  or  14  to  17  cc. 
of  acid  in  the  case  of  the  18-gram  bottle,  the  amount  needed  depend- 
ing on  the  temperature  of  acid  and  cream  and  on  the  richness  of 
the  cream. 

Whirl  in  Standard  Babcock  centrifuge  at  proper  speed,  five, 
two  and  one  minutes,  respectively,  filling  the  bottles  with  hot,  soft 
water,  temperature  140°  F.  or  above,  to  the  bottom  of  the  neck  after 
the  first  whirling  and  to  near  the  top  graduation  after  the  second 
whirling. 


624  TESTING  FOR  BUTTERFAT 

Method  II.  Add  9  cc.  of  water  after  the  cream  has  been 
weighed  into  the  test  bottle  and  before  the  acid  is  added,  then  add 
17.5  cc.  acid  and  proceed  as  in  previous  method.  This  method  is 
applicable  with  the  9-gram  bottle  only. 

Method  III.  Add  8  to  12  cc.  of  acid  in  the  case  of  the  9-gram 
bottle  or  14  to  17  cc.  of  acid  in  the  case  of  the  18-gram  bottle,  or  add 
acid  until  the  mixture  of  cream  and  acid,  after  shaking,  has  a  choco- 
late brown  color.  After  the  cream  and  acid  have  been  thoroughly 
mixed  and  all  lumps  have  completely  disappeared,  add  a  few  cubic 
centimeters  (not  less  than  5  c.c.)  of  hot,  soft  water,  whirl  five  min- 
utes, add  hot,  soft  water  to  near  top  of  scale  and  whirl  one  minute. 

The  proper  speed  of  the  centrifuge  is  800  revolutions  per  min- 


Figf.    99.     Babcock   Tester 
Courtesy  Davis-Watkins  Dairymen's  Mfg.   Co. 

ute  for  an  18-inch  diameter  wheel  and  1000  revolutions  per  minute 
for  a  12-inch  diameter  wheel. 

Reading  the  Cream  Test. — Place  the  test  bottles  into  the  water 
bath  and  read  after  a  temperature  of  130  to  140  degrees  F.  has  been 
maintained  for  not  less  than  three  minutes.  Just  before  reading  the 
test  and  when  taking  the  bottles  from  the  water  bath,  add  a  few 
drops  of  glymol.  The  glymol  removes  the  meniscus  or  curve  on 
top  of  the  fat  column,  leaving  a  straight  line  which  is  sharply  defined 
and  readily  seen. 

Measure  the  fat  column,  preferably  using  dividers,  and  record 
the  percentage  of  fat  on  the  test  sheet,  opposite  the  test  bottle  num- 
ber of  the  respective  patron. 


TESTING  FOR  BUTTSRFAT 


625 


Purpose  and  Use  of  Glymol. — Glymol  is  a  high  quality  of 
white  mineral  oil,  similar  to  typewriter  oil.  It  is  slightly  lighter 
than  butterfat  and  therefore  floats  on  top  of  the  fat  column. 

The  object  of  using  glymol  is  to  remove  the  meniscus  or  curve 
present  at  the  top  of  the  fat  column.  This  curve,  owing  to  refrac- 
tion of  the  light,  is  indistinct  and  renders  correct  reading  difficult. 
When  a  few  drops  of  glymol  are  placed  on  top  of  the  fat  column, 
the  meniscus  disappears  and  a  straight,  sharply  defined  line  is  formed 


Fig-.    100.     Beading1   Cream  Test 

between  the  top  of  the  fat  and  the  bottom  of  the  glymol.     In  this 
condition  the  test  can  be  read  easily  and  accurately. 

For  the  best  results  the  glymol  should  be  added  immediately 
before  reading.  The  glymol  may  be  conveniently  transferred  to 
the  test  bottle  from  a  pipette,  burette,  or  by  squirting  from  a  small 
oil  can. 


626  TESTING  FOR  BUTTERFAT 

Experienced  testers  are  able  to  secure  correct  readings  without 
glymol  by  reading  to  the  bottom  of  the  upper  meniscus,  but  the  use 
of  glymol  is  urged  for  maximum  accuracy. 

Glymol  should  be  used  in  the  reading  of  the  cream  test  only; 
the  milk  test  should  be  read  without  glymol,  otherwise  the  results 
of  the  milk  tests  would  be  too  low.  Experimental  results  by  Hun- 
ziker1  have  indicated  that  in  the  milk  test  the  meniscus  compensates 
for  the  loss  of  residual  fat.  It  therefore  must  be  included  in  the 
reading.  In  the  cream  test  the  proportion  of  residual  fat  lost  is 
very  small  and  is  amply  compensated  for  by  the  usual  impurities  in 
the  fat  column. 

Coloring  Glymol. — Some  operators  prefer  the  use  of  colored 
glymol,  though  equally  satisfactory  results  are  obtained  with  the  un- 
colored  glymol.  Glymol  is  best  colored  with  an  aniline  dye.  A  dye 
that  is  sold  under  the  trade  name  "oil  red"  proves  highly  satisfactory 
for  this  purpose.  Add  1  gram  of  oil  red  to  4  gallons  glymol. 

Abnormal  Appearance  of  Fat  Column. — When  the  cream  test 
has  been  properly  performed  the  fat  column  in  the  neck  of  the  bottle 
is  clear,  translucent  and  free  from  milky,  curdy  and  charred  matter 
in  or  below  the  fat.  Any  tests  in  which  the  fat  column  is  not  free 
from  visible  impurities,  or  in  which  the  fat  column  rests  on  a  layer 
of  non-fatty  material,  or  of  which  the  reading  is  otherwise  indistinct 
or  uncertain,  should  be  rejected.  See  also  abnormal  appearance  of 
fat  column  of  milk  tests. 

Testing  Skim  Milk,  Buttermilk  and  Whey  for  Butterfat 

Test  Bottles. — For  the  Babcock  test  of  skim  milk,  buttermilk 
and  whey  use  bottles  with  double  necks,  which  are  especially  con- 
structed for  this  purpose.  The  graduation  of  these  bottles  varies 
somewhat  with  the  make  of  bottle.  In  some  bottles  the  total  gradua- 
tion is  .25  per  cent  and  the  subdivisions  represent  .01  per  cent.  In 
others  the  total  graduation  is  .5  per  cent  and  the  subdivisions  repre- 
sent .05  per  cent. 

Making  the  Test. — Measure  the  properly  mixed  skim  milk  into 
the  test  bottles  with  the  17.6  cc.  pipette  used  for  milk  testing.  Add 
20  cc.  of  sulphuric  acid.  For  best  results  add  the  acid  in  several 
installments  and  shake  until  all  the  lumps  of  curd  have  completely 
disappeared.  Whirl  in  tester  for  10  minutes. 

1  Hunziker,  Indiana  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  Annual  Report,  1914. 


TESTING  FOR  BUTTDRFAT  627 

Special  attention  should  be  given  when  the  bottles  are  placed 
into  the  tester.  Test  bottles  in  which  the  lower  end  of  the  funnel- 
neck  extends  perpendicularly  along  the  side  of  the  bulb  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  bottle,  should  be  so  placed  that  the  funnel-neck  faces  the 
center  of  the  tester,  otherwise  the  fat  rises  into  the  funnel-neck. 
Test  bottles  in  which  the  lower  end  of  the  funnel-neck  extends 
diagonally  to  the  bottom  of  the  bottle  should  be  so  placed  that  the 
graduated  neck  faces  the  center  of  the  tester.  This  will  prevent 
excessive  breakage  of  this  type  of  bottles.  The  tester  should  run 
perfectly  smooth  in  order  to  prevent  excessive  breakage,  as  these 
bottles  are  of  very  delicate  construction. 

Add  distilled  water  or  rain  water  at  a  temperature  of  140°  F. 
or  over  to  the  bottom  of  the  neck  of  the  boftle;  whirl  5  minutes! 
Add  hot  water  to  near  top  of  neck,  whirl  10  minutes  and  read. 

In  the  case  of  buttermilk  and  whey  use  the  same  method  as 
described  for  skim  milk.  In  the  case  of  buttermilk,  especially  that 
derived  from  pasteurized  sour  cream,  the  buttermilk  should  be 
stirred  very  thoroughly  before  sampling.  This  is  necessary,  because 
upon  standing  the  curd  precipitates  out  and  settles  to  the  bottom 
very  rapidly,  and  it  is  the  curd  that  holds  the  bulk  of  the  fat  con- 
tained in  the  buttermilk. 

The  amount  of  fat  contained  in  skim  milk,  buttermilk  and  whey, 
particularly  in  the  first  two  liquids,  is,  or  should  be,  so  minute,  the 
fat  globules  are  so  small  and  the  construction  of  the  test  bottle  is 
so  crude,  that  it  is  difficult  to  secure  very  accurate  tests  by  this 
method,  the  proportion  of  fat  actually  shown  in  the  test  often  repre- 
senting only  a  very  small  part  of  the  total  fat  content  of  the  orig- 
inal sample. 

The  results  of  testing  skim  milk  and  buttermilk  with  the  standard 
Babcock  test  should  not  be  relied  upon  absolutely  for  accuracy,  but 
if  the  tests  are  carefully  made,  the  results  may  serve  as  a  convenient 
guide,  showing  the  operator  whether  these  products  contain  com- 
paratively little  or  much  fat.  Investigations  in  which  both  Babcock 
tests  and  chemical  fat  estimations  of  skim  milk  and  buttermilk  were 
made,  -indicate  that  the  fat  content  of  these  products  seldom  drops 
below  .1  per  cent  as  determined  by  the  chemical  estimation.  It  is 
reasonable  to  assume,  therefore,  that  when  the  Babcock  test  shows 
only  .05  per  cent  fat  or  less,  the  results  are  considerably  lower  than 
they  should  be. 


628 


TESTING  FOR  BUTTERFAT 


Bbuska1  recommends  that  1  cc.  of  amyl  alcohol  be  added  to  the 
test  before  centrifuging  in  order  to  facilitate  the  separation  of  the 
fat,  improve  the  clearness  of  the  fat  column  and  augment  the  accur- 
acy of  the  test.  He  found,  however,  that  blank  tests  made  by  this 
method  also  show  a  layer  in  the  neck  of  the  test  bottle,  resembling 
butterfat,  and  recommends  the  advisability  of  additional  experimen- 
tal work  with  the  use  of  amyl  alcohol. 


Pig-.   101 

Skim  Milk  Test 

Bottle  - 


Tig.  102.     Wizard  Steam  Tester  « 


THE  GERBER  TEST 


Fig1.  103 

Calipers  for 

Beading-  - 


This  test*  was  invented  by  Dr.  N.  Gerber,  Zurich,  Switzerland. 
It  became  available  for  commercial  use  in  Europe  shortly  after  the 
introduction  of  the  Babcock  test  in  this  country  and  has  found  wide 
application,  especially  in  European  countries. 

Apparatus  and  Chemicals. — -1.  Acido-butyrometer.  This  is  a 
glass  bulb,  extended  at  its  top  into  a  closed,  graduated  neck.  The 
graduations  represent  per  cent  and  tenths  per  cent.  The  bottom  of 

1  Bouska,  Report  before  American  Association  of  Dairy  Science,  1918. 

2  Courtesy  Louis  F.  Nafls. 

8  Courtesy  Creamery  Package  Mfg.  Co. 

*  Gerber,  Die  praktische  Milchprufung,  7th  edition,  1900. 


TESTING  FOR  BUTTERFAT  629 

the  bulb  terminates  into  a  threaded  neck  into  which  fits  a  rubber 
stopper. 

2.  Butyrometer  stand  and  water  bath. 

3.  1.1  cc.  pipette  for  milk. 

4.  3  cc.  pipette  for  cream. 

5.  10  cc.  pipette  graduated  to  .l.cc. 

6.  8.2  cc.  pipette  for  diluting  cream. 

7.  10  cc.  bulb  pipette  for  acid,  or  automatic  acid  measuring 
apparatus. 

8.  1  cc.  pipette  for  amyl  alcohol. 

9.  Centrifuge. 

Commercial  sulphuric  acid,  specific  gravity  1.82  to  1.825  at 
15°  C.  (59°  F.). 

Pure  amyl  alcohol,  specific  gravity  .8165  to  .818  at  15°  C.  (59°  F.) 
boiling  point  124-130°  C.,  should  give  a  clear  solution  with  an  equal 
volume  of  strong  hydrochloric  acid. 

Operation  of  Test 

Milk,  Skim  Milk,  Buttermilk,  Whey. — Place  the  butyrometers 
in  rack  or  stand.  Add  10  c.c.  sulphuric  acid  to  each,  measure  11  c.c. 
of  properly  mixed  sample  of  milk  and  then  1  cc.'of  amyl  alcohol 
into  the  butyrometers. 

Insert  corks,  place  thumb  over  cork  and  shake  until  all  the  curd 
is  dissolved.  Completely  invert  the  stand  several  times  to  insure 
thorough  mixing. 

Place  the  butyrometers  into  the  centrifuge  with  corks  toward  the 
periphery,  and  whirl  two  to  three  minutes,  or  until  the  fat  column 
is  perfectly  clear. 

Place  butyrometers  into  water  bath  at  60  to  70°  C.  (140-158°  F.) 
and  read.  So  adjust  the  rubber  stopper  in  the  bottom  of  the  bulb 
while  reading,  that  the  bottom  of  the  fat  column  coincides  with,  the 
zero  graduation.  Read  to  the  bottom  of  the  meniscus.  Compara- 
tive tests  have  demonstrated  that  this  test  yields  very  accurate 
results. 

Skim  milk  and  buttermilk  should  be  whirled  longer  and  at  maxi- 
mum attainable  speed  and  .05  per  cent  must  be  added  to  the  reading.1 

Cream. — Wyssmann  and  Peter2  recommend  dilution  of  the 
cream  at  the  rate  of  one  part  of  cream  to  four  parts  of  water,  mak- 

1  Richmond,  Dairy  Chemistry,  1914. 
2Wyssman  und  Peter,  Milchwirtschaft,  1907. 


630  TESTING  BUTTER 

ing  a  dilution  of  1  in  5,  and  requiring  the  multiplication  of  the 
reading  by  five.  This  appears  to  be  the  most  practicable  method 
of  cream  testing  with  the  Gerber  test. 

Richmond1  recommends  the  use  of  a  3  cc.  pipette  for  measuring 
the  cream  and  the  subsequent  addition  of  8.2  cc.  water,  and  the 
reading  to  be  interpreted  into  per  cent  by  the  use  of  a  calculated 
table;  claiming  accurate  results  for  cream  testing  not  over  32  per 
cent  fat.  For  richer  cream  he  advises  a  dilution  of  equal  parts,  by 
weight,  of  cream  and  water  and  then  proceeding  as  with  cream  test- 
ing not  over  32  per  cent  fat. 

Either  of  the  above  two  methods  for  cream  testing  is  obviously 
rather  unsuited  for  use  in  creameries  that  purchase  their  butterfat 
in  the  form  of  cream.  The  first  is  undeniably  inaccurate  and  the 
second,  while  somewhat  more  accurate,  is  too  complicated  for  prac- 
tical purposes  under  American  conditions. 

BUTTER 
Determination  of  Per  Cent  Moisture 

Preparation  of  Sample. — Official.2 — "If  large  quantities  of  but- 
ter are  to  be  sampled,  use  a  butter  trier  or  sampler.  Melt  com- 
pletely the  portions  thus  drawn,  100-500  grams,  in  a  closed  vessel  at 
as  low  a  temperature  as  possible.  When  softened,  cool  and,  at  the 
same  time,  shake  the  mass  violently  until  it  is  homogeneous  and 
solidified  sufficiently  to  prevent  the  separation  of  the  water  and  fat. 
Then  pour  a  portion  into  the  vessel  from  which  it  is  to  be  weighed. 
The  sample  should  completely  or  nearly  fill  the  vessel  and  should 
be  kept  in  a  cool  place  until  analyzed. 

Moisture. — Official. — "Weigh  1.5  to  2.5  grams  of  the  sample 
into  a  flat-bottomed  dish,  having  a  surface  of  at  least  20  sq.  cm.,  dry 
at  the  temperature  of  boiling  water  and  weigh  at  hourly  intervals 
until  the  weight  becomes  constant.  The  use  of  clean,  dry  sand  or 
asbestos  is  admissible." 

For  factory  purposes  the  official  method  is  obviously  not  well 
adapted,  largely  because  of  its  time-consuming  element.  It  is  nec- 
essary to  make  moisture  tests  while  the  butter  is  still  in  the  churn 
and  here  quick  work,  consistent  with  reasonable  accuracy,  is  indis- 
pensable. Creameries  whose  motto  is  "Safety  First"  will  also  make 

1  Richmond,  Dairy  Chemistry,   1914. 

2  Journal  of  the  Association  of  Official  Agricultural  Chemists,  Vol.  II,  No. 
3,  Nov.  15,  1916. 


TESTING  BUTTER  631 

moisture  tests  of  the  butter  in  the  cooler,  so  as  to  be  doubly  sure  that 
no  butter  leaves  the  factory  that  does  not  comply  with  the  Federal 
ruling. 

Factory  Moisture  Tests 

Preparation  of  Sample. — It  is  an  open  and  disputable  question 
as  to  whether  the  butter  sample  should  be  especially  prepared,  or 
whether  a  sample  large  enough  only  for  immediate  weighing  should 
be  used.  Both  methods,  if  properly  executed,  are  capable  of  yield- 
ing practically  equally  reliable  results. 


Fig*.  104.     Aluminum  Evaporating1  Dish 

If  the  sample  is  especially  prepared,  a  larger  sample  and  more 
portions  of  butter  from  different  parts  of  the  churning  or  package 
can  be  taken.  This  obviously  has  the  advantage,  theoretically  at 
least,  of  securing  a  more  representative  sample,  but  this  advan- 
tage is  often  offset  by  irregularities  in  the  preparation  of  the 
sample  and  by  the  extra  time  consumed.  However,  when  it  is  neces- 
sary to  hold  the  sample  for  a  considerable  length  of  time  before 
testing,  when  it  is  to  be  transported,  either  by  mail  or  otherwise,  when 
it  is  to  be  tested  by  more  than  one  party,  or  when  a  composite  sample 
is  taken  from  more  than  one  churning  or  package,  special  prepara- 
tion of  the  sample  is  indispensable. 

In  all  these  cases  churn  samples  should  be  taken  with  a  dry, 
warm  spoon  or  spatula  from  both  ends  and  the  center  of  the  churn. 
Tub  or  box  samples  should  be  taken  by  boring  the  butter  diagonally 
with  a  dry  trier  and  removing  from  different  parts  of  the  trier  seg- 
ments for  the  sample,  with  a  knife  or  steel  spatula.  In  the  case  of 
prints  a  thin  cross  section  through  the  center  of  the  entire  print  may 
be  cut  out  for  the  sample. 


632  TESTING  BUTTER 

The  sample  jar  should  be  tightly  sealed.  In  order  to  prepare  the 
sample  the  butter  is  allowed  to  soften  by  warming  until  it  has  a 
creamy  consistency,  in  which  condition  it  must  be  thoroughly  shaken. 
If  used  immediately,  portions  of  this  thickly  flowing  butter  emulsion 
may  be  weighed  out  without  rehardening.  If  not  used  immediately 
the  sample  should  be  cooled  and  constantly  vigorously  shaken  while 
cooling. 

Brown1  recommends  the  preparation  of  the  butter  sample  with- 
out warming  by  inserting  in  the  sample  jar  a  rapidly  revolving  spiral 
wire,  in  a  similar  manner  as  milk  shakes  at  the  soda  fountain  are 
emulsified. 

Taking  Samples  without  Subsequent  Preparation. — Where 
the  sample  is  to  be  immediately  tested  after  it  is  taken,  quite  satis- 
factory results  may  be  obtained  without  special  preparation.  In  this 
case  the  following  method  of  sampling  is  recommended : 

From  Churn:  Bring  butter  upon  workers,  wipe  water  off  door 
frame,  cut  top  off  butter  with  ladle,  so  as  to  have  surface  smooth  and 
solid,  with  knife  cut  three  small  cones  of  butter  and  place  in  alumi- 
num dish.  Take  second  sample  from  the  other  end  of  the  churn, 
and  place  in  another  aluminum  dish.  The  sample  in  each  aluminum 
dish  should  be  large  enough  to  weigh  approximately  ten  (10)  grams. 

From  Cooler:  Run  trier  diagonally  through  Friday  box  or 
through  tub  and  take  portions  from  the  plug  at  each  end  and  in  the 
center.  Do  not  shake  the  trier,  or  the  butter,  at  any  stage  of  the 
process  of  sampling,  to  remove  loose  moisture.  This  moisture  be- 
longs to  the  butter.  Bore  at  least  two  packages  of  cooler  butter 
from  each  churning  and  make  a  test  of  each.  The  sample  in  each 
evaporating  dish  should  be  large  enough  to  weigh  approximately  10 
grams. 

From  Prints:  Cut  the  print  into  two  halves,  and  cut  a  slab 
about  one-fourth  inch  thick  from  the  fresh  surface.  Quarter  this 
slab  and  transfer  one  of  the  quarters  to  the  aluminum  dish. 

Making  the  Moisture  Test. 
Equipment:  One  steel  spatula, 
One  butter  trier. 
Aluminum  cups  of  medium  size. 
One  balance,  sensibility  reciprocal  .01  gram. 

1  Brown,  Chemist  Beatrice  Creamery  Co.,  Lincoln.  Neb. 


TESTING  BUTTER  633 

One  heating  arrangement,  consisting  of  an  al- 
cohol or  gas  burner  with  tripod  and  small 
piece  of  fine  copper  wire  gauze,  or  prefer- 
ably an  electric  plate,  '.,  . 

One  thermometer  registering  to  300°  F. 

Weighing:  Have  balance  properly  balanced.  See  that  it 
swings  freely.  Keep  pans  perfectly  clean.  Check  balance  several 
times  during  the  day.  Check  up  weights  of  aluminum  cups  weekly 
by  re-weighing,  in  order  to  detect  loss  in  weight.  Before  taring 
aluminum  cups,  wash  them,  dry  them,  and  heat  them.  Do  not  use 
dry  scouring  powders  for  aluminum  cups.  If  washing  powder  is 
used  dissolve  it  first.  Weigh  to  the  third  decimal  point.  Handle 
weights  with  forceps  only  and  keep  them  clean.  If  they  show  signs 
of  wear,  have  them  replaced  by  new  ones. 

In  the  case  of  the  unprepared  sample,  simply  weigh  the  butter 
which  was  transferred  direct  from  churn  or  package  to  the  tared 
aluminum  dish  and  record  the  weight  thus  obtained.  In  the  case  of 
the  prepared  sample  transfer  a  small  portion,  about  10  grams,  of 
the  butter  in  the  sample  jar  to  the  tared  dish,  weigh  and  record 
weights.  The  butter  is  now  ready  for  the  evaporation  of  the  mois- 
ture. 

Heating:  Slowly  heat  over  flame  or  on  hot  plate,  stirring  con- 
stantly with  thermometer.  When  temperature  has  risen  to 
260°  F.  remove  flame.  The  temperature  will  usually  continue  to 
rise  to  about  280°  F.  When  it  has  dropped  back  to  about  240°  F. 
heat  again  as  before.  Evaporation  of  moisture  then  is  complete. 
Weigh  the  aluminum  cup  again  and  calculate  per  cent  moisture.  For 
heating,  use  moderate  heat.  Too  large  a  flame  produces  so  intense 
a  heat  that  the  contents  are  liable  to  sputter  over  and  also  may 
become  burnt.  When  using  an  alcohol  flame,  have  a  wire  gauze  or 
light  steel  plate  between  flame  and  cup.  When  using  a  gas  flame, 
have  a  thin  asbestos  board  between  flame  and  cup.  This  helps  to 
give  a  more  uniform  heat. 

When  the  heating  has  been  done  properly,  the  curd  in  the  bottom 
of  the  cup  should  be  slightly  brown.  A  whitish  yellow  curd  indi- 
cates insufficient  heating,  which  is  conducive  of  too  low  tests.  A 
dark  brown  curd  suggests  overheating,  which  usually  causes  too  high 
tests. 


634  TESTING  BUTTER 

When  done  using  the  thermometer,  scrape  it  off  on  one  side  of 
cup,  but  do  not  wipe  it  off,  so  as  to  avoid  removing  fat  from  the  test, 
and  getting  the  next  test  too  high. 

Second  Weighing:  Weigh  cup  again  and  calculate  the  per 
cent  moisture  by  deducting  the  second  weighing  from  the  first  weigh- 
ing, dividing  the  difference  by  the  net  weight  of  the  sample  (first 
weighing)  and  multiplying  the  result  by  100. 

Example : 

Butter  plus  cup 23.463 

Cup    12.863 


Net  weight  of  butter. .    10.600 

First   weighing 23.463 

Second    weighing 21.784 

Net  loss  in  weight 1.679 

"ffol  X     100=rl5-8%  moisture. 

Determination  of  Per  Cent  Fat  in  Butter 
Volumetric    Methods 

The  Volumetric  methods  of  testing  butter  for  fat,  which  have 
been  devised,  are  all  modifications  of  the  Babcock  test.  The  modi- 
fications refer  almost  exclusively  to  such  changes  in  the  type  and 
graduation  of  the  Babcock  test  bottle  as  to  make  the  bottle  applica- 
ble for  the  butter  test.  In  these  methods  the  butter  is  weighed  into 
the  butter  test  bottle  and  the  per  cent  fat  is  read  off  the  graduation 
on  the  neck  of  the  bottle. 

The  testing  of  butter  by  these  methods  cannot  as  yet  be  consid- 
ered a  complete  success  and  the  results  have  not  as  a  whole  been 
entirely  reliable.  The  chief  obstacles  with  which  the  operator  is 
confronted  in  his  efforts  to  determine  the  per  cent  of  fat  in  butter 
by  the  modified  Babcock  test  are : 

1.  The  reaction  of  the  sulphuric  acid  used  in  the  test  with  the 
salt  contained  in  the  butter.  The  reaction  generates  hydrochloric 
acid  gas  which  tends  to  char  the  fat  and  the  escape  of  which  causes 
violent  foaming  to  the  extent  of  forcing  a  portion  of  the  contents 
out  of  the  bottle. 

The  danger  of  charring  the  fat  has  been  largely  overcome  by 
adding  water  before  the  addition  of  the  acid  and  by  filling  the 


TESTING  BUTTER  635 

bottle  to  the  bottom  of  the  neck  with  water,  immediately  after  the 
acid  has  been  added  and  mixed. 

The  danger  of  violent  foaming  and  expulsion  of  a  portion  of 
the  sample  is  minimized  materially,  if  not  entirely  prevented,  by 
adding  the  acid  very  slowly,  in  numerous  installments  and  mix- 
ing thoroughly  after  each  addition. 

2.  The  experimental  error  in  a  product  containing  so  high  a 
percentage  of  the  ingredient  to  be  determined  as  is  the  case  with 
fat  in  butter  (butter  contains  80  or  more  per  cent  fat)  is  naturally 
proportionally  great,  and  the  causes  which  introduce  the  experimen- 
tal error  are  fixed  and  cannot  be  removed.  Thus,  in  estimating  fat 
by  volume,  it  must  be  assumed  that  the  butterfat  has  a  definite  spe- 
cific gravity,  that  is,  that  a  given  weight  occupies  a  definite  volume. 
This  is  not  the  case.  Butterfat  represents  a  compound  of  several 
fats,  varying  widely  in  specific  gravity  and  the  proportion  in  which 
these  different  fats  are  present  in  the  mixed  butterfat  varies  consid- 
erably with  breed,  period  of  lactation  and  feed,  as  determined  by 
locality  and  season  of  the  year.  While  the  variations  in  the  specific 
gravity  of  the  mixed  butterfat  are  not  large,  yet,  with  butter  con- 
taining 80  per  cent  fat  or  over,  they  do  affect  the  volume  of  the  fat 
column  and  therefore  the  accuracy  of  the  reading.  This  one  factor 
is  entirely  beyond  the  control  of  the  operator. 

Again,  the  temperature  of  the  fat  column  when  read  is  another 
factor  introducing  experimental  error.  By  the  intelligent  use  of 
the  water  bath,  the  temperature  can  be  controlled  within  reasonable 
limits,  thus  minimizing  the  effect  of  this  interfering  factor  to  a  con- 
siderable extent. 

The  modified  Babcock  tests  for  butter  which  have  been  devised 
are  those  in  the  operation  of  which  the  Hepburn  bottle,  the  Wagner 
bottle  and  the  Wright  bottle  are  used.  They  are  briefly  described  in 
the  following  paragraphs. 

Hepburn1  Test  Bottles. 

Two  types  of  bottles  have  been  designed  by  Hepburn,  namely, 
the  9  inch,  9  gram,  90  per  cent  bottle,  and  the  6  inch,  6  gram,  90  per 
cent  bottle. 

The  9  inch,  9  gram,  90  per  cent  bottle. — The  graduated  por- 
tion has  a  capacity  of  90  per  cent  of  the  sample  tested.  90  per 


1  Hepburn,    A    Modified    Babcock   Method    for   Determining    Fat    in    Butter. 
Thesis  for  Degree  of  Ph.D.,  Cornell,  1918. 


636 


TESTING  BUTTER 


cent  of  9  grams  is  8.1  grams.  Since  the  specific  gravity  of  butterfat, 
under  test  conditions,  averages  approximately  .9,  the  8.1  grams  of 

8  1 

butterfat  occupy  a  space  of  -5- or  9  cc.     The  volume  of  the  neck, 

from  0  to  90,  therefore,  must  occupy  exactly  9  cc.  This  volume 
calls  for  a  test  bottle  of  the  following  dimensions :  Height  over  all, 
approximately  8.8  inches.  Length  of  graduated  portion  of  neck, 


Tig.    105 


Pig-.    106 


Hepburn  Butter  Test  Bottles 
Courtesy  Louis  F.  Nans 


139  mm.  Diameter  of  graduated  portion  of  neck,  9.07  mm.  The 
graduated  portion  of  neck  is  divided  into  90  divisions.  This  bottle 
is  applicable  for  a  Babcock  centrifuge  with  a  wheel  diameter  of  18 
inches  or  more. 


TESTING  BUTTER  637 

The  6  inch,  6  gram,  90  per  cent  bottle. — The  graduated  portion, 
of  the  bottle  has  a  capacity  of  90  per  cent  of  the  sample  tested.  90. 
per  cent  of  6  grams  =  5.4  grams.  Since  the  specific  gravity  of 
butterfat,  under  test  conditions,  averages  approximately  .9,  the  5.4 

5  4 
grams  of  butterfat  occupy  a  space  of  ~  or  6  cc.     The  volume  of 

the  neck  of  the  test  bottle,  from  0  to  90,  therefore,  must  be  exactly 
6  cc.  This  volume  calls  for  a  type  of  "bottle  with  the  following 
dimensions :  Height  over  all,  approximately  6.5  inches.  Length  of 
graduated  portion  of  neck,  93.5  mm.  Diameter  of  graduated  por- 
tion of  neck,  9.04  mm.  The  graduation  from  0  to  90  is  divided  into 
90  divisions.  This  bottle  is  adapted  for  Babcock  testers  with  a 
diameter  of  less  than  18  inches. 

Scales,   sensibility  reciprocal   .01   grams. 

Chemicals,  commercial  sulphuric  acid,  specific  gravity  1.82  to 
1.83.  Glymol,  or  high  grade  white  mineral  oil. 

Operation  of  Test  with  9  inch,  9  gram,  90  per  cent  bottle.—- 
Transfer,  preferably  by  pouring,  9  grams  of  the  properly  prepared, 
thickly  fluid  sample  of  butter  into  the  test  bottle  previously  balanced 
on  the  scales.  Add  9  cc.  of  lukewarm  water  and  then  17.5  cc.  com- 
mercial sulphuric  acid.  Add  the  acid  carefully,  in  small  portions, 
mixing  thoroughly  after  each  addition,  until  all  of  the  17.5  cc.  has 
been  added.  This  precaution  is  necessary  in  order  to  avoid  exces- 
sive foaming  and  loss  of  sample  due  to  action  between  acid  and  salt 
in  the  butter. 

After  the  contents  of  the  bottle  have  been  thoroughly  mixed,  add 
a  sufficient  amount  of  water  to  fill  the  bottle  to  the  base  of  the  neck. 
Centrifuge  in  Babcock  tester  for  five  minutes  at  the  usual  speed  for 
the  same  size  tester  as  used  for  milk  and  cream.  See  Table  104.  Add 
hot  water  to  near  the  top  of  the  graduation  and  whirl  for  four  min- 
utes. Transfer  bottles  to  the  hot  water  bath  and  hold  at  a  tem- 
perature of  125°  to  130°  F.  for  not  less  than  three  minutes.  Add  a 
few  drops  of  glymol  and  read  at  once.  The  reading  gives  the  per- 
centage of  butterfat  direct. 

Operation  of  Test  with  the  6  inch,  6  gram,  90  per  cent  bottle. 
— Follow  the  directions  given  for  the  operation  of  the  test  with  the 
9  inch,  9  gram,  90  per  cent  bottle  with  the  following  modifications : 
Instead  of  9  grams,  weigh  6  grams  of  the  butter  into  the  test  bottle, 


638  TESTING  BUTTER 

and  instead  of  9  cc.  add  12  cc.  of  lukewarm  water  just  before  the 
acid  is  added. 

Accuracy  of  Results. — Hepburn,  as  the  result  of  a  comparison 
of  tests  between  the  two  90  per  cent  butter  test  bottles  and  the 
official,  chemical  analysis,  and  embracing  work  with  124  separate 
samples  of  butter,  finds  the  modified  Babcock  test,  as  described 
above,  applicable  as  a  successful  commercial  method  for  estimating 
the  percentage  of  fat  in  butter. 

Other  Modifications  of  the  Babcock  Test. — Earlier  attempts 
to  modify  the  Babcock  test,  so  as  to  make  it  suitable  for  the  rapid 
determination  of  the  fat  in  butter,  resulted  in  the  construction  and 
use  of  the  Wright  bottle  and  the  Wagner  bottle.  In  these  bottles 
the  graduated  portion  of  the  neck  has  a  very  narrow  diameter  and 
the  bulk  of  the  fat  is  assembled  in  a  bulb  which  is  a  part  of  the 
graduated  neck. 

Tests  with  these  bottles  have  proven  very  uncertain  and  unrelia- 
ble, probably  largely  because  even  slight  temperature  changes,  during 
the  reading  of  the  test,  caused  very  great  expansions  or  contractions 
of  the  fat  column  in  the  graduated  portion  of  the  neck,  due  to  the 
relatively  large  volume  of  fat  affected  in  the  bulb  of  the  neck  and 
to  the  very  narrow  diameter  of  the  graduated  neck.  This  intensity 
of  expansion  and  contraction  of  the  thin  fat  column  that  is  directly 
connected  with  the  relatively  large  volume  of  fat  in  the  bulb  of  the 
neck  rests  on  the  same  principle  as  the  mercury  column  in  the  ther- 
mometer. For  these  reasons,  therefore,  the  use  of  these  modi- 
fied Babcock  bottles,  equipped  with  bulbs  in  the  neck  of  the  bottle, 
is  prone  to  yield  entirely  erroneous  results  and  cannot  be  recom- 
mended for  the  determination  of  the  percentage  of  fat  in  butter. 

Gravimetric  Determination. 

Indirect  Method. — Official. — Dissolve  the  dry  butter,  obtained 
in  the  moisture  determination2  in  which  no  absorbent  was  used,  in 
absolute  ether  or  petroleum  ether,  transfer  to  a  weighed  Gooch,  with 
the  aid  of  a  wash  bottle  filled  with  the  solvent  and  wash  until  free 
from  fat.  Dry  the  Gooch  and  contents  at  the  temperature  of  boil- 
ing water  until  the  weight  is  constant  and  determine  the  fat. 

Direct  Method.— Official.1— From  the  dry  butter,  obtained  in 
the  determination  of  moisture,2  either  with  or  without  the  use  of  an 


1  Journal  of  the  Association  of  Official  Agricultural  Chemists,  Vol.  II,  No.  8, 
November,   1916. 

a  See  Determination   of   Moisture   in   Butter   (Official 


TESTING  BUTTER  639 

absorbent,  extract  the  fat  with  anhydrous,  alcohol-free  ether,  receiv- 
ing the  solution  in  a  weighed  flask.  Evaporate  the  ether,  dry  the 
extract  at  the  temperature  of  boiling  water  and  weigh  at  hourly 
intervals  until  the  weight  is  constant. 

Fat  Determination  by  Kohman  Method.1 

Kohman  recommends  the  following  fat  determination  in  con- 
nection with  the  moisture  test : 

"The  moisture  is  determined  as  usual  over  a  small  flame  in  a 
tall,  rather  narrow,  lipped  aluminum  beaker  with  a  capacity  of  about 
100  cc.,  using  a  10  gram  sample.  After  the  beaker  is  weighed  to 
determine  the  loss  of  moisture,  it  is  filled  with  petroleum  ether  and 
the  contents  are  stirred  with  a  glass  rod  to  secure  a  thorough  mix- 
ture. It  is  then  covered  with  a  watch  crystal  and  allowed  to  stand 
two  or  three  minutes  for  the  mixture  of  curd  and  salt  to  settle, 
when  the  solvent  is  gently  decanted  off  without  disturbing  the  sedi- 
ment. The  beaker  is  then  filled  with  fresh  solvent.  The  curd  and 
salt  mixture  settles  rapidly  in  the  fresh  solvent  and  the  liquid  can 
be  decanted  off  after  a  very  short  time.  By  gently  heating  the 
beaker  now,  either  on  a  water  bath  or  a  hot  plate,  or  directly  over  a 
small  flame,  but  not  so  rapidly  as  to  cause  sputtering,  the  sediment 
can  be  completely  freed  of  petroleum  ether  by  evaporation  in  a  very 
short  time.  The  per  cent  of  fat  is  then  determined  by  difference 
upon  reweighing  the  beaker  with  its  contents.  The  salt  is  now  in 
ideal  condition  to  be  determined  by  titration,  using  a  solution  of  such 
strength  that  the  number  of  cc.  used  represents  the  per  cent  of  salt. 

Before  trying  to  evaporate  the  petroleum  ether  from  the  mixture 
of  curd  and  salt,  it  is  well  to  loosen  it  from  the  bottom  of  the  beaker, 
gently  tapping  it  on  the  desk  in  order  to  lessen  the  tendency  to  sput- 
ter." According  to  Kohman,  this  test  requires  about  15  minutes. 

Fat  Determination  by  Shaw.2 

"In  this  test  for  fat,  the  salt  and  part  of  the  curd  are  first  re- 
moved with  hot  water,  the  remaining  curd  is  dissolved  in  dilute  sul- 
phuric acid,  the  acid  solution  is  removed  from  the  fat,  and  the  latter 
weighed. 

1  Kohman,  A  Rapid  and  Accurate  Method  for  Butter  Analysis,   Suitable  for 

Factory  Control  Work.     Journal  of  Ind.  and  Eng.  Chemistry,  Vol.  11,  No.  1,  1919. 

2  Shaw,  A  New  Method  for  Determining  Fat  and  Salt  in  Butter,  Especially 

Adapted  for  Use  in  Creameries.     U.   S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,   B.   A.   I.   Circular 

202,  1912. 


640  TESTING  BUTTER 

Apparatus  Required. — "A  Babcock  centrifuge.  A  special  sep- 
aratory  funnel.  A  balance  which  is  sensitive  to  0.01  gram.  (A  tor- 
sion balance  such  as  is  used  in  the  moisture  test  will  answer  if  it  is 
in  good  condition.)  An  accurate  set  of  metric  weights.  A  10- 
cubic  centimeter  graduated  glass  cylinder.  A  100-cubic  centimeter 
glass  beaker. 

Special  Separatory  Funnel. — -"This  is  essentially  a  separatory 
funnel  with  a  capillary  stem.  The  capacity  of  the  funnel  should  be 
about  75  cubic  centimeters  and  its  weight  when  empty  should  not 
exceed  70  grams.  The  stopper  may  be  dispensed  with  if  desired. 
It  is  a  convenience  in  the  final  weighing,  but  not  a  necessity. 

Special  Socket. — "This  is  a  double  socket  for  holding  the  above 
funnel  while  centrifuging,  and  is  made  of  heavy  sheet  copper  with 
hangers  of  steel.  Each  socket  will  hold  two  funnels.  The  cut 
shows  the  construction  and  dimensions.  It  differs  in  no  material 
way  from  the  socket  ordinarily  used  on  the  Babcock  centrifuge, 
except  for  the  opening  in  the  side.  If  the  dimensions  given  fail  to 
fit  the  centrifuge  at  hand,  they  may  be  changed  to  suit  so  long  as  the 
dimensions  of  the  barrels  are  not  altered.  Care  must  be  taken  that 
the  capillary  stem  of  the  funnel  does  not  project  far  enough  through 
the  hole  in  the  socket  to  strike  against  the  side  of  the  centrifuge 
when  being  whirled.  It  is  best  to  fit  a  disk  of  rubber  gasketing  to 
the  bottom  of  the  socket. 

Sampling  the  Butter. — <See  previous  directions. 

Determining  the  Fat. — "It  will  be  found  more  economical  in 
some  cases  if  4  or  multiples  of  4  determinations  are  made  at  once. 
In  this  case  the  2  double  sockets  containing  the  funnels  will  balance 
when  placed  opposite  in  the  centrifuge.  If  but  1  or  2  determina- 
tions are  to  be  made  it  will  be  necessary  to  balance  the  centrifuge 
by  putting  weights  in  the  opposite  socket.  First  of  all  the  weight  of 
the  clean  and  dry  separatory  funnel  must  be  ascertained,  and  this 
as  well  as  the  other  weighings  involved  must  be  done  with  care. 
This  weight  once  found  will  suffice  for  all  determinations  made 
with  that  particular  funnel  unless  by  accident  some  of  the  glass 
should  be  chipped  off.  A  slight  scratch  made  with  a  file  can  serve 
to  identify  the  funnels.  A  paper  label  can  not  be  used. 

I.  Weighing  the  Charge. — "Counterpoise  the  small  beaker  on 
the  balance  and  carefully  weigh  out  20  grams  of  the  sample  mixed  as 
directed. 


TESTING  BUTTER 


641 


II.  Transferring  the  Charge  to  the  Separatory  Funnel. — "  Place 
the  beaker  containing  the  charge  on  a  radiator  or  steam  pipe  until 
the  butter  is  melted.  (This  may  also  be  accomplished  by  adding  a 
small  quantity  of  boiling  water.)  Next  pour  the  charge  into  the 
funnel,  which  must  be  maintained  in  an  upright  position,  and  no 


/<** 


Fig*.  107.     Shaw  Butter  Fat  Tester 


Pig-.   108.     Separatory  Funnel  with 
Capillary  Tube 


part  of  the  charge  must  be  lost  in  transferring.  With  a  fine  stream 
of  hot  water  rinse  down  the  sides  of  the  beaker  and  pour  the  rinsings 
into  the  funnel.  Repeat  this,  using  not  more  than  a  teaspoonful 
of  water  at  a  time  until  the  funnel  is  full  to  within  one-quarter  of 
an  inch  of  the  shoulder.  The  rinsing  can  be  done  very  conveniently 
with  the  arrangement  on  many  steam  centrifuges  for  filling  the 


642  TESTING  BUTTER 

Babcock  test  bottles,  i.  e.,  the  rubber  tube  ending  in  a  glass  or  metal 
point  and  connecting  with  a  water  tank  heated  by  steam.  The  point 
must  be  fine,  however.  Should  it  be  larger  than  three-sixteenths 
of  an  inch  it  can  be  replaced  with  the  tip  of  a  small  oil  can.  Should 
this  arrangement  not  be  at  hand  one  can  easily  be  improvised  from 
a  tin  can,  a  rubber  tube,  and  an  oil-can  tip.  In  transferring  the 
melted  butter  and  rinsings  the  last  drop  may  be  prevented  from 
running  down  the  outside  of  the  beaker,  by  touching  the  lip  of  the 
beaker  to  the  neck  of  the  separatory  funnel. 

III.  Centrifuging. — "Insert  the  separatory  funnel  in  the  special 
socket,  allowing  the  stem  to  project  through  the  hole  in  the  bottom 
and  the  handle  of  the  stopcock  through  the  open  side.     (Caution: 
The  socket  must  always  be  placed  in  the  centrifuge  with  the  open 
side  facing  the  direction  in  which  the  wheel  revolves.     This  is  very 
important,  for  if  the  opening  faces  the  reverse  direction  the  stop- 
cock will  be  thrown  out  and  broken. )     Whirl  one  minute  at  the  same 
speed  used  in  testing  milk  with  the  Babcock  test.     The  centrifuge 
must  be  kept  warm. 

IV.  Removing  the  Water. — "Remove  the  separatory  funnel 
from  the  socket  and  allow  the  water  to  flow  through  the  stopcock 
until  the  fat  (or  curd)  is  within  one-eighth  of  an  inch  of  the  stop- 
cock.    In  this  and  subsequent  operations  involving  the  stopcock  one 
must  be  sure  it  does  not  stick.     It  must  always  be  under  control,  and 
it  is  best  to  give  it  frequent  slight  movements  when  the  water  or  acid 
is  running  through  it  to  be  sure  that  this  control  is  maintained; 
otherwise  it  might  stick  at  a  critical  moment  and  the  determination 
be  lost.     The  most  of  the  salt  and  part  of  the  curd  are  taken  out  by 
the  water.     The  remainder  of  the  curd  and  all  of  the  fat  stays  in  the 
funnel. 

V.  Dissolving  the  Curd. — "Measure  out  9  cubic  centimeters  of 
cold  water,  preferably  condensed  steam,  with  the  glass  graduate  and 
pour  into  the  beaker.     Add  to  this  11  cubic  centimeters  of  sulphuric 
acid  of  the  same  strength  used  in  testing  milk  and  cream  (specific 
gravity,  1.82-1.83)  and  mix  by  gently  shaking.     (Caution:     Always 
add  acid  to  water  and  not  water  to  acid,  or  a  serious  accident  may 
result.)     While  still  very  hot  add  the  mixture  to  the  contents  of  the 
separatory  funnel.     Now  dissolve  the  curd  by  giving  the  funnel  a 
circular  motion  with  the  hand  grasping  the  neck.     Centrifuge  one 
minute,  as  before.     Draw  off  the  acid  solution  till  the  fat  layer  is 


TESTING  BUTTER  643 

within  one-fourth  of  an  inch  of  the  stopcock  and  repeat  the  opera- 
tions in  this  paragraph. 

VI.  Freeing  the  Fat  from  the  Acid  Solution.— "The  fat  will 
now  be  in  a  clear  transparent  layer  free  from  curd,  and  the  solution 
below  it  will  be  practically  colorless.     To  separate  these  two,  draw 
off  the  latter  until  the  fat  nearly  reaches  the  stopcock  and  centrifuge 
another  minute.     Now  allow  the  fat  to  come  down  through  the 
stopcock  till  it  just  reaches  the  end  of  the  capillary  stem.     This  last 
step  offers  no  difficulties,  providing  the  stopcock  is  kept  in  control, 
but  it  requires  care. 

VII.  Determining  the  Percentage  of  Fat. — "Carefully  dry  the 
separatory  funnel  on  the  outside  with  a  clean  soft  towel  and  weigh  it. 
The  weight  thus  obtained  minus  the  weight  of  the  empty  funnel 
represents  the  weight  of  butterfat  in  20  grams  of  the  sample.     The 
percentage  is  obtained  by  dividing  this  weight  by  2  and  multiplying 
by  10. 

Sometimes  it  is  possible  to  obtain  a  clear  fat  layer  with  but  one 
addition  of  acid,  but  in  the  majority  of  cases  it  will  be  found  neces- 
sary to  add  it  the  second  time,  as  directed.  The  proportion  of  acid 
and  water  selected  is  the  outcome  of  a  number  of  experiments,  and 
is  the  one  that  yields  the  best  results.  The  test  for  fat  alone  involves 
4  centrifugings  of  1  minute  each.  The  centrifuge  should  be  kept 
warm  and  the  contents  of  the  funnel  in  a  melted  state  when  the  acid 
is  added.  The  time  consumed  should  not  be  much  longer  than  it 
takes  to  test  cream  with  the  Babcock  test,  and  the  operations  in- 
volved are  simple  and  easily  learned.  No  difficulty  has  been  experi- 
enced in  obtaining  a  clear  fat.  Occasionally  there  will  appear  a 
slight  emulsion  at  the  bottom  of  the  fat  layer  when  the  fat  is  drawn 
into  the  stem.  This  is  so  small  in  amount  that  it  does  not  seem  to 
affect  the  accuracy  of  the  test  to  any  considerable  extent.  The 
emulsion  should  be  weighed  as  fat  and  considered  as  such. 

Cleaning  the  Separatory  Funnels. — "The  separatory  funnels 
should  be  washed  after  each  determination,  but  it  is  not  necessary 
to  dry  them  before  use  providing  their  weight,  when  clean  and  dry, 
has  been  found.  The  cleaning  is  easily  done  with  hot  water  and 
either  soap  or  cleansing  powder.  They  should  be  well  rinsed  off 
with  clean  water  and  drained." 

Comparative  tests  by  Shaw  show  that  this  test  yields  results 
which  compare  very  closely  with  those  of  the  official  fat  estimation. 
The  test  can  be  completed  in  20  minutes. 


644  TESTING  BUTTER 

Determination  of   Salt  in  Butter 

Principle  of  Salt  Tests. — All  salt  tests  are  based  on  the  same 
principle.  In  their  operation  two  chemicals  are  used,  namely  silver 
nitrate  (Ag  NO3)  and  potassium  chromate  (K2  Cr  O4).  The  silver 
nitrate  has  the  power  of  chemically  acting  on  both,  the  salt  or  sodium 
chloride  (NaCl)  and  the  potassium  chromate.  With  sodium  chloride 
the  silver  nitrate  forms  silver  chloride  which  is  a  white  precipitate. 
With  the  potassium  chromate  the  silver  nitrate  forms  silver  chro- 
mate which  is  a  brick-red  precipitate.  The  silver  nitrate  acts  first 
on  the  sodium  chloride.  Hence,  when  silver  nitrate  is  added  to  a 
solution  of  sodium  chloride  (salt)  which  contains  some  potassium 
chromate,  the  silver  nitrate  first  combines  with  the  sodium  chloride 
until  all  the  chloride  is  used  up  and  has  been  converted  into  silver 
chloride.  This  precipitate  is  white.  Now,  if  more  silver  nitrate  is 
added,  the  silver  combines  with  the  chromate,  changing  the  color  of 
.the  precipitate  to  a  brick-red.  The  moment  the  brick-red  color  be- 
comes permanent,  therefore,  all  the  salt  has  been  neutralized,  and 
the  amount  of  silver  nitrate  required  to  produce  this  brick-red  color 
furnishes  the  basis  for  the  calculation  of  the  per  cent  of  salt  in 
butter. 

Calculation  of  Per  Cent  Salt  in  Butter.— The  calculation  of 
the  per  cent  salt  in  butter  rests  on  a  similar  principle  as  the  calcula- 
tion of  the  per  cent  acid  in  cream.  A  normal  solution  of  silver 
nitrate  neutralizes  an  equal  amount  of  a  normal  solution  of  sodium 
chloride.  A  normal  solution  of  silver  nitrate  contains,  in  1,000  cc. 
of  water,  170  grams  of  silver  nitrate.  A  normal  solution  of  sodium 
chloride  contains,  in  1,000  cc.  of  water,  58.5  grams  of  sodium  chlor- 
ide. Hence,  1  gram  of  sodium  chloride  is  neutralized  by  ^Q-F  or 
2.906  grams  of  silver  nitrate. 

If,  therefore,  a  silver  nitrate  solution  is  used  which  contains,  in 
1,000  cc.  of  water,  29.06  grams  of  silver  nitrate,  then  each  cc.  of  this 

solution  will  contain    1f'm  or  .02906  grams  of  silver  nitrate,  and 

1UUU 

.02906  grams  of  silver  nitrate  will  neutralize  2.906  : 1  =  .02906  :  X, 
or  .01  gram  of  sodium  chloride.  If  a  10  gram  sample  of  butter  is 
used  and  all  of  this  sample  is  tested,  each  cc.  of  silver  nitrate  solution 

required  represents  ' r or  .1  per  cent  salt. 


TESTING  BUTTER  645 

Example. — 10  grams  of  butter  are  tested.  32  c  c.  of  silver 
nitrate  are  required  to  produce  a  brick-red  color.  What  is  the  per 
cent  salt? 

32  X  .1  =  3.2  per  cent  salt. 

If,  however,  the  sample  of  butter,  after  melting,  is  made  up  with 
water  to  a  250  cc.  solution,  and  only  25  cc.  of  this  solution  are  tested, 
then  each  cc.  of  silver  nitrate  represents  1  per  cent  salt.  Supposing 
in  this  case  that  3.5  cc.  of  silver  nitrate  are  required  to  neutralize 
the  25  cc.  of  the  250  cc.  solution  to  which  the  10  gram  sample  oi 
butter  was  made  up,  then  the  per  cent  salt  would  be  3.5  X  1=3.5 
per  cent.  In  the  case  of  some  salt  tests  the  silver  nitrate  solution 
is  not  made  as  strong  as  above.  Instead  of  29.06  grams  of  silver 
nitrate  per  1,000  cc.  water,  the  solution  may  be  made  up  to  only  one- 
half  or  one-quarter  this  strength,  containing  14.53  grams  or  7.265 
grams,  respectively,  of  silver  nitrate  and  each  cc.  would  represent 
only  .05  or  .025  per  cent  salt,  respectively,  if  all  of  a  10  gram  sam- 
ple of  butter  is  used. 

The  potassium  chromate  solution  is  prepared  by  dissolving  10 
grams  of  dry  potassium  chromate  in  100  cc.  of  distilled  water. 

Salt. — Official  Method.1 — Weigh  in  a  '  counterpoised  beaker 
5-10  grams  of  butter,  using  portions  of  about  1  gram  from  different 
parts  of  the  sample.  Add  about  20  cc.  of  hot  water  and,  after  the 
butter  is  melted,  transfer  the  whole  to  a  separatory  funnel.  Insert 
the  stopper  and  shake  for  a  few  moments.  Let  stand  until  all  the 
fat  has  collected  on  the  top  of  the  water,  then  draw  off  the  latter 
into  a  flask,  being  careful  to  let  none  of  the  fat  globules  pass.  Again 
add  hot  water,  rinsing  the  beaker,  and  repeat  the  extraction  10-15 
times,  using  10-20  cc.  of  water  each  time.  The  washings  will  con- 
tain all  but  a  mere  trace  of  the  sodium  chloride  originally  present  in 
the  butter.  Determine  the  amount  in  the  whole  or  an  aliquot  of  the 
liquid  by  titration  with  standard  silver  nitrate,  using  potassium  chro- 
mate as  an  indicator.  .*.- 

Kohman  Salt  Test. — See  Fat  Determination  by  Kohman. 

Determination  of  Salt  by  Shaw.2 
This  is  a  continuation  of  the  Shaw  test  for  fat  in  butter. 


1  Journal  of  the  Association  of  Official  Agricultural  Chemists,  Vol.  II,  No.  3, 
November  15,  1916. 

2  Shaw,  A  New  Method  for  Determining  Fat  and  Salt  in  Butter,  Especially 
Adapted  for  Use  in  Creameries.  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  B.  A.  I.  Circular 
202,  1912. 


646  TESTING  BUTTER 

Additional  Apparatus  Required.  —  "A  50-cubic  centimeter  bur- 
ette graduated  in  tenth  cubic  centimeters.  A  250-cubic  centimeter 
volumetric  flask.  A  25-cubic  centimeter  pipette.  A  250-cubic  cen- 
timeter beaker  or  white  cup. 

Chemicals  Required.  —  '"An  aqueous  silver-nitrate  solution  con- 
taining 14.525  grams  pure  silver  nitrate  per  liter.  This  solution 
may  be  obtained  from  a  chemical  supply  house.  A  10  per  cent 
aqueous  solution  of  potassium  chromate,  which  may  be  obtained  at 
a  drug  store. 

Method.  —  "To  determine  the  percentage  of  salt  the  wash  water, 
obtained  as  previously  directed  in  Paragraph  IV,  see  Shaw  test  for 
fat,  is  allowed  to  run  into  the  250-cubic  centimeter  flask,  and  the 
operations  in  Paragraph  IV  conducted  3  times  instead  of  but  once, 
the  water  each  time  being  allowed  to  run  into  the  flask. 

After  the  washings  have  become  cool  the  flask  is  filled  to  the 
mark  with  cold  water  and  the  contents  mixed.  Twenty-five  cubic 
centimeters,  which  represents  2  grams  of  the  original  sample,  are 
then  measured  with  the  pipette  into  the  beaker  or  cup  and  titrated 
with  the  silver-nitrate  solution  from  the  burette,  using  2  or  3  drops 
of  the  potassium-chromate  solution  as  the  indicator.  The  first 
appearance  of  a  permanent  red  is  the  end  point.  The  silver-nitrate 
solution  is  of  such  strength  that  2  cubic  centimeters  represent  1  per 
cent  of  salt  if  a  1-gram  charge  is  used.  In  the  above  test  where 

2  grams  are  represented  (    FTX  ^     the  num^er  of  cubic  centimeters 


divided  by  4  gives  the  percentage  of  salt  in  the  original  sample.  As 
an  example,  if  the  burette  reading  showed  that  10.6  cubic  centimeters 
of  the  silver-nitrate  solution  were  consumed  in  reaching  the  end 
point,  then  10.6  divided  by  4,  or  2.65,  would  be  the  percentage  of 
salt  in  that  particular  sample  of  butter.  . 

The  Perkins  Salt  Test. 

Professor  A.  E.  Perkins  of  the  Ohio  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  recommends  the  following  method  for  the  determination  of 
the  per  cent  of  salt  in  butter  : 

Weigh  out  either  5  or  10  grams  of  the  butter  to  be  tested,  which 
has  previously  been  warmed  to  a  salvy  consistency  and  very  thor- 
oughly mixed,  into  any  receptacle,  such  as  a  beaker  or  cup.  Warm 
gently  until  just  melted,  then  add  20  or  30  cc.  of  commercial  ace- 
tone, and  about  1  cc.  of  a  saturated  water  solution  of  potassium  chro- 


TESTING  BUTTER  647 

mate.  A  solution  of  silver  nitrate  containing  29.06  grams  per  liter, 
is  then  added  slowly  from  a  burette,  the  mixture  containing  the 
butter  being  thoroughly  shaken  or  stirred.  After  the  first 
appearance  of  a  brick-red  coloration,  the  silver  nitrate  solution  is 
added,  a  drop  at  a  time,  until  a  brick  color  develops  which  is  perma- 
nent for  several  minutes  after  thorough  stirring  or  shaking. 

If  10  grams  of  butter  have  been  taken,  each  cc.  of  silver  nitrate 
solution  used  represents  .1  per  cent  of  salt  in  the  butter ;  thus,  if  the 
burette  reading  showed  29  cc.  of  silver  nitrate  solution  had  been 
used,  the  butter  under  examination  contained  2.9  per  cent  salt.  If 
only  a  5  gram  sample  is  taken,  each  cc.  of  silver  nitrate  solution  used 
will  represent  .2  per  cent  of  salt  in  the  butter. 

The  residue  from  any  of  the  moisture  tests  can  be  used  by  add- 
ing a  little  water  to  replace  that  driven  off  by  drying,  and  the  chem- 
icals as  directed  above.  (The  titration  can  be  made  in  the  same  cup 
used  for  the  moisture  determination.) 

If  the  commercial  acetone  is  not  available  a  mixture  of  equal 
parts  of  alcohol  and  ether  may  be  substituted  with  equally  good 
results.  (Denatured  alcohol  such  as  is  sold  for  fuel  purposes,  and 
the  cheaper  grades  of  ether  are  entirely  satisfactory.) 

SALT  TEST  FOR  FACTORY  USE 

By  Hunziker  and  Hosman.1 

Equipment. — One  salt  tester.  This  is  a  copper  container,  3| 
inches  deep,  2y2  inches  in  diameter,  and  holding  about  250  c.c.  It 
is  equipped  at  its  top  edge  with  a  heavy  rubber  ring  on  which  the 
moisture  evaporating  dish  is  inverted,  and  with  a  lightning  jar 
wire  clamp  for  pressing  the  evaporating  dish  down  on  the  rubber 
ring. 

One  100  c.c.  glass  cylinder  (low  style). 

One  25  c.c.  pipette. 

One  or  more  150  c.c.  flasks  (cone  shape)  for  titrating. 

One  50  c.c.  burette  with  stand. 

One  large  bottle,  with  glass  tubing  and  clamps  to  connect  with 
burette,  for  standard  silver  nitrate  solution. 

One  small  bottle  for  potassium  chromate  solution. 

Chemicals. — Silver  nitrate  solution  containing-  7.265  grams 
silver  nitrate  in  1000  c.c.  water. 

Potassium  chromate  solution. 


1  Hunziker  and  Hosman,  Blue  Valley  Research  Laboratory,  1918. 


648 


TESTING  BUTTER 


Operation  of  Test. — This  test  is  intended  to  be  a  continuation 
of  the  moisture  test  in  which  an  evaporating  dish  of  a  diameter  of 
2^  inches  is  used. 

(1).  At  the  conclusion  of  the  moisture  test  fill  the  100  c.c.  cylin- 
der to  the  mark  with  warm  water,  temperature  about  100°  F.,  and 
pour  this  water  into  the  salt  tester. 

(2).  Invert  moisture  evaporating  dish  over  rubber  ring  of  salt 
tester  and  make  the  dish  fast  by  means  of  wire  clamp. 


Tig.    109.     Hunziker   Salt   Tester 
and  Evaporating*  Dish 


rig-.    110.     Hunziker   Salt   Tester 
Beady  for  Shaking1 


(3).  Now  shake  the  salt  tester  vigorously,  giving  it  about  30 
shakes.  This  causes  the  salt  in  the  evaporating  dish  to  be  washed 
out  by  the  warm  water. 

(4).  Remove  evaporating  dish  and  transfer  with  pipette  25 
c.c.  of  the  salt  solution  from  the  salt  tester  into  the  titrating  flask. 

(5).  Add  1  c.c.  of  potassium  chromate  solution  to  the  titrat- 
ing flask  and  from  burette  slowly  add  silver  nitrate  solution  until  a 
permanent  brick-red  precipitate  is  obtained.  The  titrating  flask 
must  be  constantly  and  thoroughly  agitated  by  a  rotating  motion 
while  the  silver  nitrate  solution  is  added. 

(6).  If  a  10-gram  sample  of  butter  is  used  in  the  moisture  test, 
each  c.c.  silver  nitrate  solution  represents  .1  per  cent  salt.  Assum- 
ing that  35  c.c.  silver  nitrate  solution  was  used,  the  butter  then  con- 

.  35 

tained  —  =  3.5%  salt. 
10 


TESTING  BUTTER  649 

(7).  If  the  sample  of  butter  is  not  exactly  10  grams,  but  some- 
what more  or  less,  the  per  cent  of  salt  is  readily  calculated  by  divid- 
ing the  c.c.  silver  nitrate  solution  required,  by  the  exact  weight  of 
the  sample  of  butter.  Say  the  sample  weighed  10.5  grams  and  re- 
quired 35  c.c.  of  silver  nitrate  solution,  the  butter  then  contained 

i§  =3.3%  salt,      p^ltfe"  i"^ :.:;;;.:: 

(8).  This  salt  test  occupies  about  five  minutes.  It  is  exceed- 
ingly simple  and  accurate,  when  made  in  accordance  with  the  above 
directions.  It  eliminates  the  weighing  of  the  sample  for  the  salt 
determination  and  it  automatically  washes  the  moisture  evaporating 
cup.  For  uniformly  reliable  results  the  following  precautions  must 
be  observed : 

(a).  Do  not  slobber  the  melted  butterfat  in  the  evaporating 
dish,  over  the  outside  of  the  salt  tester.  The  butter  must  stay  inside 
of  the  periphery  of  the  evaporating  dish,  when  the  latter  is  inverted 
over  the  tester. 

(b).  Do  not  use  water  at  a  temperature  lower,  nor  much 
higher  than  100°  F.  Water  must  be  warm  enough  to  melt  the  fat. 
If  too  warm  it  will  generate  pressure  when  shaking  the  tester,  caus- 
ing loss  of  contents. 

(c).  Strap  the  evaporating  dish  down  to  the  tester  so  that 
there  is  no  leak  around  the  rubber  ring. 

(d).     Shake  vigorously  thirty  (30)  times. 

(e).  Give  the  titrating  flask  the  proper  rotating  movement  for 
vigorous  and  continuous  agitation,  while  the  silver  nitrate  solution 
runs  from  the  burette. 

(/).  Stop  titration  when  the  desired  color  has  been  reached 
(brick-red). 

(g).  It  is  necessary  to  give  the  fat  time  to  rise  in  the  tester 
after  shaking.  This  requires  about  one  minute.  For  this  reason, 
the  tester  should  be  set  down  after  shaking,  and  the  aluminum  cup 
taken  off  and  wiped  dry  and  gotten  ready  for  the  next  weighing  of 
butter.  While  this  is  done,  the  fat  in  the  tester  automatically  rises 
to  the  surface. 

(h).  If  the  edges  of  the  evaporating  dish  become  uneven,  due 
to  wear,  causing  the  cup  to  leak  when  inverted  over  the  rubber  ring 
of  the  tester,  invert  the  cup  over  a  piece  of  fine  emery  cloth,  and 
wear  down  the  edges  until  even. 


650  TESTING  BUTTER 

10.  The  speed  of  the  entire  test  will  much  depend  on  the 
proper  planning  and  organizing  of  the  work  of  both  the  moisture 
and  the  salt  test,  so  as  to  avoid  any  waiting  between  steps,  such  as 
waiting  for  the  evaporating  dish  to  cool,  or  for  the  fat  to  rise  to 
the  surface  in  the  tester.     It  has  been  found  that  the  maximum 
speed  is  obtained  by  running  the  moisture  and  the  salt  tests  of  three 
samples  together. 

11.  Use  only  evaporating  dishes  without  lips. 

Determination  of  Curd. 

Casein,  Ash  and  Chlorin. — Official. — Cover  the  crucible,  con- 
taining the  residue  from  the  fat  determination  by  the  indirect 
method,  see  official  fat  determination,  and  heat  gently  at  first,  then 
raise  the  temperature  gradually  to  just  below  redness.  The  cover 
may  then  be  removed  and  heating  continued  until  the  contents  of 
the  crucible  are  white.  The  loss  in  weight  represents  casein,  and 
the  residue  in  the  crucible,  mineral  water.  Dissolve  this  mineral 
matter  in  water  slightly  acidified  with  nitric  acid  and  determine 
chlorin,  either  gravimetrically  or  volumetrically. 

The  curd  or  casein  content  of  butter  as  determined  by  the  Offi- 
cial Method  includes  the  lactose  also.  Since  normal  butter  contains 
approximately  .3  per  cent  lactose,  the  nitrogenous  curd  content  of 
butter  is  in  reality  about  .3  per  cent  lower  than  the  per  cent  curd  as 
determined  by  the  Official  Method. 

For  making  an  exact  determination  of  curd,  in  contradistinction 
to  the  curd  determination,  as  the  term  is  used  in  the  Official  Method, 
the  following  method  is  recommended  :l 

Dry  about  10  grams  of  butter  in  a  flat-bottom  porcelain  evap- 
orating dish  in  a  steam  drying  oven  at  about  98  to  99  degrees  C. 
Remove  the  fat  by  dissolving  with  petroleum  ether  and  filter,  trans- 
ferring the  entire  contents  of  the  evaporating  dish  to  the  filter,  and 
rinsing  with  petroleum  ether.  Transfer  filter  paper  and  contents 
to  a  Kjeldahl  flask  and  determine  the  nitrogen  by  the  Kjeldahl 
method,  using  the  factor  6.38  in  calculating  the  per  cent  of  protein 
or  curd. 

The  United  States  Bureau  of  Chemistry2  recommends  the  same 
method  but  suggests  the  use  of  a  25  gram  sample. 

1Hunziker,  Spitzer  and  Mills,  The  Pasteurization  of  Sour,  Farm-Skimmed 
Cream  for  Butter  Making.  Purdue  Bulletin  203,  1917. 

2  United  States  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  Information  by  Correspondence, 
March,  1919. 


THE:  MOJONNIDR  TEST  651 

• 

Determination  of  Lactose.1 

"The  lactose  in  butter  is  never  determined  direct,  but  always  by 
difference,  unless  adulteration  of  the  sample  with  sugar  is  suspected, 
in  which  case  the  water  extract  of  the  curd  may  be  examined  by  the 
polariscope  or  by  the  copper  reduction  method. 

Determination  of  Acid.2 

Weigh  5  grams  of  butter  into  a  250  cc.  tall  beaker,  and  add 
25  cc.  of  distilled  water  free  from  CO2.  Warm  the  mixture  to  about 
40  degrees  C.,  or  until  the  butter  is  all  melted.  Add  .5  cc.  of  a  1 
per  cent  solution  of  phenolphthalein  and  titrate  to  a  sharp  pink  with 


The  Mojonnier  Test  for  Fat  and  Solids  in  Milk,  Skim  Milk, 
Buttermilk  and  Cream,  and  for  Fat  and  Moisture  in  Butter 

Equipment.  —  Install   the   tester   on   a   solid   foundation   in   a 
room  protected  against  excessive  fluctuations  in  temperature. 

1.  Tester  for  butter  fat. 

2.  Tester  for  total  solids. 

3.  Fat  extraction  flasks. 

4.  Eight  3^  -inch  aluminum  dishes  without  covers  and  with 
tall  counterpoise  which  tares  the  eight  dishes,  for  fat  tests. 

5.  Eight  3-inch  aluminum  dishes  with  covers  and  short  coun- 
terpoise for  solids  tests. 

6.  Fat  oven.    Keep  temperature  at  135°  C. 

7.  Cooling  chamber. 

8.  Solids  oven.    Keep  temperature  at  100°  C. 

9.  250°  C.  thermometer  for  solids  oven.    Have  mercury  bulb 
fit  snugly  into  brass  mercury  well.    Brass  mercury  well  must  always 
form  good  contact  with  hot  plate. 

10.  250°  C.  thermometer  for  fat  oven.     Observe  same  pre- 
cautions as  in  (9). 

11.  Vacuum  gauge  on  main  suction  line,  registers  either  or 
both  ovens. 

12.  Solids  plate.    Must  be  level  and  held  at  180°  C. 

13.  Fat  plate.    Hold  at  135°  C. 

1  United  States  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  Information  by  Correspondence,  March, 
1919. 

2  Hunziker,    Spitzer    and    Mills,    Pasteurization    of    Sour,    Farm-Skimmed 
Cream  for  Butter  Making-.     Purdue  Bulletin  203,  1917. 


652 


THE:  MOJONNIER  TEST 


14.  Rheostat  for  fat  plate.  Lever  must  make  good  contact 
with  one  button,  not  with  two  at  a  time.  When  right  button  has 
been  found  that  maintains  constant  temperature,  mark  this  point 
on  rheostat  rim.  When  starting  tester  each  day,  turn  handle  on 
full  until  temperature  has  risen  to  within  right  point,  then  turn 
back  to  previously  marked  button. 

8         5         3031    25  II  7      10     3   136    4 


17 


16  29  14         15    19         18 

Tig.   111.     Mojonnier   Tester 

Courtesy  Mojonnier  Bros.  Co. 


24 


15. 

16. 
in  (14). 

17. 
in  (14). 

18. 

19. 


Rheostat  for  oven.    Observe  same  precautions  as  in  (14). 
Rheostat  for  solids  oven.     Observe  same  precautions  as 

Rheostat  for  solids  plate.     Observe  same  precautions  as 


Handle  for  centrifuge. 

Snap  switches  for  each  hot  plate    showing    temperature 
and  time  for  treating  samples  at  various  points. 

20.  Power  unit,  consisting  of  vacuum  pump,  water  circulating 
pump  and  motor  for  same.  Keep  pump  filled  to  air  cock  with  oil 
furnished  with  tester. 


THE  MOJONNIKR  TEST  653 

21.  Automatic  burettes  and  cans  holding  the  water,  ammonia, 
alcohol,  ethyl  ether  and  petroleum  ether,  placed  in  the  order  in 
which  they  are  used.    Each  division  on  burettes  delivers  the  proper 
amount  of  the  desired  reagent  for  a  single  extraction. 

22.  Hood,  to  be  placed  over  fat  dishes  when  evaporating  off 
ether. 

23.  Legs,  to  be  fastened  to  floor  with  lag  screws. 

24.  This  side  need  not  be  fastened  to  floor.     If  necessary 
to  take  out  power  unit  disconnect  connections  in  rear  of  machine 
and  move  this  part  of  machine  forward. 

25.  Chemical  balance.     Keep  level,   clean  and  handle  care- 
fully.    Raise  knife  edges  gradually  and  with  care.     Clean  balance 
daily.     Keep  weights  clean.     When  weights  show  signs  of  wear, 
order  new  ones. 

26.  Cock,  to  exhaust  vacuum  from  oven  when  cock  (27)  is 
closed.    Must  be  kept  closed  where  vacuum  is  turned  on  oven. 

27.  Cock,  that  switches  vacuum  from  main  line  into  vacuum 
oven.     Set  of  cocks  at  right  for  solids  oven,  set  of  cocks  at  left  is 
for  fat  oven. 

28.  Hole  in  top  of  fat  plate  holder,  communicating  with  suc- 
tion fan,  on  power  unit.    Run  exhaust  pipe  on  suction  fan  out  of 
window  and  keep  hood  over  the  dishes  in  order  to  drive  all  ether 
fumes  from  room. 

29.  Stool,  to  be  screwed  to  floor. 

Fresh  Milk,   Skim  Milk,  Buttermilk  and  Whey 
Butterfat    Determination 

(1).  Keep  fat  dishes  in  vacuum  oven  at  least  five  minutes 
while  oven  is  heated,  with  vacuum  on. 

(2).  Cool  fat  dishes  in  cooling  oven  for  seven  minutes,  with 
pump  turned  on  and  bell  set  at  seven  minutes. 

(3).  Weigh  fat  dish  without  cover  and  return  it  to  cooling 
oven. 

(4).  Use  the  ten-gram  pipettes  for  measuring  out  ten  grams 
of  milk  into  cleaned  but  not  necessarily  dried  Mojonnier  extraction 
flask.  Use  only  ten-gram  pipettes  furnished  with  tester  and  do  not 
use  10  c.c.  pipettes.  The  pipette  is  graduated  to  deliver  ten  grams 
of  milk  after  allowing  all  milk  to  run  out  and  letting  it  drain  for 


654 


THE:  MOJONNIER  TEST 


fifteen  seconds  longer,  then  blowing  gently  to  remove  last  drop. 
The  pipette  must  be  perfectly  clean  and  dry  before  being  used. 
Wash  frequently  with  sulphuric  acid,  water,  alcohol  and  ether  to 
insure  having  a  clean  pipette. 

(5).  Remove  flask  from  holder  and  run  4  c.c.  water  (one 
charge  on  water  burette)  into  each  flask.  Be  careful  not  to  add 
more.  Shake  well  until  all  of  sample  is  mixed  with  water.  This 
can  be  done  without  inserting  cork. 


Fief.    112 
Chianomatic   Balance 


Tig.    113 
Extraction  Flask 


Courtesy  Mojonnier  Bros.   Co. 

(6).  Before  replacing  flask  into  holder,  add  \y2  c.c.  c.p.  am- 
monia. Shake  well  so  that  all  of  sample  is  well  mixed  with  am- 
monia. This  can  be  done  without  inserting  cork. 

(7).  Add  95  per  cent  alcohol  up  to  base  of  top  bulb  of  extrac- 
tion flask.  Insert  cork,  using  best  quality  corks  only.  Replace 
flask  into  flask  holder.  Shake  thoroughly  and  see  that  no  milk  ad- 
heres to  any  part  of  flask  undissolved.  In  case  particles  of  milk 
stick  to  side  of  flask,  shake  thoroughly  until  these  are  washed  away. 
It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  shake  thoroughly  at  this  point. 

(8).  Add  25  c.c.  ethyl  ether,  insert  corks  and  shake  vigorously, 
lengthwise  of  flask,  with  liquid  in  large  bulb  of  flask,  and  small  bulb 
extended  upward.  Stop  shaking  at  end  of  five  seconds  until  all 
liquid  has  run  into  large  bulb  and  repeat  vigorous  shaking  for  four 
five-second  periods. 


THE  MOJONNIER  TEST  655 

(9).     Add  25  c.c.  petroleum  ether  and  shake  in  same  way. 

(10).  Place  extraction  flasks  into  centrifuge  and  whirl  for 
thirty  turns  at  speed  of  about  600  R.  P.  M.  Have  centrifuge  bal- 
anced with  small  oil  sample  bottles  furnished  with  tester. 

(11).  Place  four  3^-inch  dishes  in  line  on  shelf  adjoining  hot 
plate,  keeping  them  in  order  in  which  their  weights  were  posted 
upon  record  sheet.  Aim  to  have  numbers  on  flasks  correspond  with 
number  of  dishes. 

(12).  Pour  ether  extraction  above  dividing  line  into  proper 
dishes,  and  slide  dishes  over  onto  hot  plate,  which  should  be  held 
at  a  temperature  of  135  degrees  C.,  as  indicated  by  thermometer  in- 
serted in  nickel  plated  mercury  well.  Cover  dishes  with  hood. 

(13)  Repeat  the  extraction,  shaking  first  to  prevent  formation 
of  precipitate,  then  adding  successively  5  c.c.  of  95  per  cent  alcohol, 
then  15  c.c.  ethyl  ether,  and  then  15  c.c.  petroleum  ether,  and  shake 
vigorously  after  the  addition  of  each  of  above  three  reagents  for 
four  five-second  periods. 

(14).     Whirl  in  centrifuge  for  thirty  turns. 

(15).  Move  aluminum  dishes  back  upon  shelf  adjoining  hot 
plate  and  pour  the  second  extraction  into  proper  dishes.  Never 
pour  extraction  into  hot  dish.  Remove  dish  from  hot  plate  as  soon 
as  ether  is  all  evaporated. 

(16).  When  all  of  ether  has  evaporated  place  dishes  into 
vacuum  oven,  which  should  have  a  temperature  of  135  degrees  cen- 
trigrade.  Keep  them  there  for  five  minutes  after  the  vacuum  gauge 
shows  at  least  twenty-two  inches  of  vacuum. 

(17).  Place  dishes  into  cooler  for  seven  minutes,  with  pump 
outfit  running.  See  that  water  is  running  through  cooling  plates. 

(18).  Place  counterpoise  for  dish  and  the  approximate  weight 
for  fat  on  right  hand  balance  pan. 

(19).  Transfer  dish  to  left  hand  balance  pan  and  weigh  quick- 
ly to  0.10  milligram  (0.0001  gr.). 

(20)  Weight  of  fat  divided  by  weight  of  sample  taken,  mul- 
tiplied by  100,  represents  per  cent  butter  fat. 

Total  Solids  Determination 

( 1 ) .  Keep  solids  dishes  in  vacuum  oven,  while  oven  is  heated, 
with  vacuu,m  on.  • 


656  THE  MOJONNIER  TEST 

(2).  Cool  solids  dishes  in  cooling  oven  for  five  minutes,  with 
pump  turned  on  and  bell  set  at  five  minutes. 

(3).  Weigh  solids  dish,  with  cover  on.  Return  dish  to  cool- 
ing oven.  •"*'  "• 

(4).  Fill  one  two-gram  pipette  with  the  milk  from  properly 
mixed  sample,  place  upon  weighing  cross,  weigh  and  record. 

(5).  Transfer  contents  of  pipette  to  tared  solids  dish,  return 
pipette  to  weighing  cross,  reweigh  and  record. 

(6).  Place  solids  dish  with  contents  on  solids  hot  plate,  tem- 
perature 180°  C. 

(7).  When  evaporation  has  been  completed  (in  about  two 
minutes)  place  dish  in  solids  oven,  temperature  100°  C. 

(8).     Turn  on  vacuum  and  set  bell  for  ten  minutes. 

(9).  When  bell  rings,  transfer  dish  to  cooling  oven  and  set 
bell  for  five  minutes. 

(10).  When  bell  rings,  weigh  dish  and  calculate  per  cent  total 
solids  by  dividing  net  weight  of  dry  solids  by  net  weight  of  milk 
taken  (2  grams)  and  multiplying  result  by  100. 

Cream 

Preparation  of  Sample. — Mix  sample  thoroughly  in  the  con- 
tainer. Homogenized  cream  requires  no  special  treatment.  Very 
thick,  lumpy  or  churned  cream  should  be  warmed  sufficiently  to  se- 
cure uniform  and  homogeneous  mixture.  Heat  till  butterfat  is  all 
just  barely  melted. 

Fat  Determination 

(1).  Prepare  fat  dishes  as  directed  in  paragraphs  1  to  3,  in- 
clusive, for  Butterfat  Determination  of  Fresh  Milk. 

(2).  Weigh  one  gram  of  the  sample  into  the  tared  butter  boat, 
or  directly  into  the  tared  extraction  flask. 

(3).  .Remove  flask  from  holder  and  add  enough  water  to  make 
a  total  of  10  c.c.  Insert  cork  and  mix  thoroughly  by  shaking. 

(4).  Add  1.5  c.c.  (one  charge)  of  ammonia  in  the  case  of 
sweet  cream,  or  3  c.c.  of  ammonia  in  the  case  of  sour  cream.  This 
is  very  important. 

(5).  From  this  point  on  to  the  end  of  the  test  continue  as  per 
directions  for  Butterfat  Determination  of  Fresh  Milk,  paragraphs 
7  to  20,  inclusive,  with  the  following  exceptions : 


THE  MOJONNIER  TEST  657 

(a).  For  the  second  extraction,  paragraph  13,  use  25  c.c.  of 
each  ether,  instead  of  15  c.c. 

(b).  At  the  end  of  the  second  extraction  it  may  be  necessary 
to  add  quite  a  little  more  alcohol,  in  order  to  bring  the  dividing  line 
up  to  the  required  height. 

Total  Solids  Determination 

(1).  Prepare  solids  dishes  as  directed  in  paragraphs  1  to  3, 
inclusive,  for  Total  Solids  Determination  of  Fresh  Milk. 

(2).  Use  a  one  gram  sample.  Add  1  c.c.  distilled  water  to 
the  sample  in  the  dish. 

(3).  Place  not  more  than  two  dishes  at  once  upon  hot  plate. 
Allow  all  visible  moisture  to  evaporate.  During  evaporation,  turn 
the  dishes  around  with  crucible  tongs,  slowly,  so  as  to  produce  an 
even  boiling  over  the  whole  bottom  surface  of  the  dishes.  Evapora- 
tion should  require  not  more  than  two  minutes.  The  end  point  is 
reached  when  bubbling  and  cracking  ceases  and  sample  shows  first 
trace  of  brown. 

(4).  Place  dishes  into  vacuum  oven  at  100°  C.,  and  turn  on 
vacuum.  Heat  for  10  minutes.  The  gauge  should  register  not  less 
than  22  inches  of  vacuum.  If  for  any  reason  the  vacuum  is  lower 
than  22  inches,  leave  dishes  in  oven  for  20  minutes. 

(5).  Transfer  dishes  to  cooler.  Allow  them  to  cool  for  five 
minutes. 

(6).  Weigh  dishes  with  covers  on,  being  careful  to  weigh 
quickly  and  very  exactly. 

(7).  Net  weight  of  dried  solids  divided  by  net  weight  of 
cream  taken,  multiplied  by  100,  represents  per  cent  total  solids. 

Butter 

Preparation  of  Sample. — Method  I.  Remove  about  one-half 
pound  butter  from  different  parts  of  churn,  or  tub,  or  other  pack- 
age, with  a  butter  trier,  to  a  widemouth  bottle  or  Erlenmeyer  flask, 
insert  rubber  stopper  which  carries  a  thermometer  that  reaches 
down  into  the  mass  of  butter.  Heat  bottle  with  contents  in  hot 
water  to  40°  C.  (104°  F.).  Do  not  heat  to  higher  temperature. 
Shake  vigorously.  Or,  Method  II.  Transfer  butter  from  churn, 
tub  or  other  package  into  mason  jar,  beaker  or  glass  tumbler, 


658  THE:  MOJONNIER  TEST 

wide-mouthed  bottle,  or  'any  other  receptacle  that  permits  of  cover- 
ing tightly  to  prevent  evaporation.  Allow  sealed  receptacle  to  stand 
in  warm  room  or  in  warm  water  until  the  butter  is  soft  enough  for 
thorough  stirring,  with  table  knife,  spatula  or  mechanical  stirrer. 
At  75  to  80°  F.  butter  stirs  into  a  waxy  mass  from  which  water  or 
casein  will  not  separate.  In  this  form  it  is  put  into  boat  or  flask,  to 
be  weighed. 

Butter  Fat  Determination 

(1).  Transfer  about  one  gram  of  butter  sample  to  butter  boat, 
weigh  quickly  and  insert  boat  into  extraction  flask. 

(2).  Remove  extraction  flask  from  holder  and  add  9  c.c.  hot 
water.  Shake  vigorously  so  as  to  mix  butter  and  water  thoroughly. 

(3).  Before  replacing  flask  into  holder  add  1.5  c.c.  C.  P.  am- 
monia and  shake  thoroughly  until  mixture  is  complete. 

(4).  Add  10  c.c.  of  95  per  cent  alcohol.  Insert  cork.  Re- 
place flask  into  holder.  Shake  thoroughly.  Use  best  quality  cork. 

(5).  Cool  flask  by  running  cold  water  over  lower  end  of  ex- 
traction flask,  if  flask  is  very  hot.  Otherwise  cooling  is  not  neces- 
sary. 

(6).  Add  25  c.c.  ethyl  ether.  Insert  cork,  shake  vigorously 
*  until  all  butter  is  dissolved  out  of  boat.  Then  add  25  c.c.  petroleum 
ether  and  repeat  operation. 

(7).  Centrifuge  flask,  turning  handle  thirty  turns  after  a 
speed  of  about  600  R.  P.  M.  has  been  reached. 

(8).  Pour  off  extractions  into  proper  weighed  3j^-inch  alum- 
inum dishes.  Repeat  above  extraction,  adding  successively  5  c.c.  of 
95  per  cent  alcohol,  then  25  c.c.  of  each  of  the  ethers.  For  extreme 
accuracy  repeat  extraction  for  third  time.  The  second  extraction 
will  remove  all  but  .10  to  .15  per  cent  of  the  fat.  For  factory  con- 
trol work,  therefore,  the  third  extraction  is  not  necessary. 

(9).  Evaporate  off  ether  at  135°  C.  on  fat  plate  and  when 
all  ether  is  off,  dry  fat  in  fat  oven  held  at  135°  C.  for  five  minutes 
after  the  vacuum  has  reached  at  least  22  inches. 

(10).  Cool,  weigh  and  calculate  per  cent  butter  fat  by  divid- 
ing net  weight  of  extracted  fat  by  net  weight  of  sample  taken,  and 
multiplying  quotient  by  100. 


DETECTION  OF  RENOVATED  BUTTER  AND  OLEO MARGARINE    659 

Moisture  Determination 

(1).  Weigh  about  one  gram  of  properly  prepared  sample  into 
solids  dish  which  has  previously  been  treated  as  per  directions  for 
Total  Solids  Determination  of  Fresh  Milk,  paragraphs  1  to  3,  in- 
clusive. 

(2).  Heat  solids  dish  with  contents  on  hot  plate  at  180°  C. 
until  foaming  ceases. 

(3)     Place  in  vacuum  oven  held  at  100°  C.  for  seven  minutes. 

(4).  Cool, weigh  and  calculate  per  cent  moisture  by  dividing 
loss  in  weight  by  net  weight  of  original  sample,  and  multiply  quotient 
by  100. 

Detection  of  Butter,  Renovated  Butter  and  Oleomargarine 

Microscopic  Examination. — Official.1 — "Place  a  small  portion 
of  the  fresh  unmelted  sample,  taken  from  the  inside  of  the  mass,  on 
a  slide,  add  a  drop  of  pure  sweet  oil,  cover  with  gentle  pressure,  and 
examine  with  a  one-half  to  one-eighth  inch  objective  for  crystals  of 
lard,  etc.  Examine  the  same  specimen  with  polarized  light  and  a 
selenite  plate  without  the  use-of  oil.  Pure  fresh  butter  will  neither 
show  crystals  nor  a  particolored  field  with  selenite.  Other  fats 
melted  and  cooled  and  mixed  with  butter  will  usually  present  crystals 
and  variegated  colors  with  the  selenite  plate. 

For  further  microscopic  study  dissolve  from  3  to  4  cc.  of  the  fat 
in  15  cc.  of  ether  in  a  test  tube.  Close  the  tube  with  a  loose  plug  of 
cotton  wool  and  allow  to  stand  from  twelve  to  twenty- four  hours  at 
20°  to  25°  C.  When  crystals  form  at  the  bottom  of  the  tube,  they 
are  removed  with  a  pipette,  glass  rod,  or  tube,  placed  on  a  slide,  cov- 
ered, and  examined.  The  crystals  formed  by  later  deposits  may  be 
examined  in  a  similar  way." 

Foam  Test2 

Heat  a  small  piece  of  butter  (2  to  3  grams)  either  in  a  spoon  or 
in  an  evaporating  dish,  over  a  free  flame.  Heat  slowly  until  the  fat 
boils  briskly.  If  it  is  butter  it  will  boil  quietly  and  noiselessly  and 
it  will  foam  abundantly.  If  it  is  renovated  butter  or  oleomargarine, 
it  will  boil  noisily,  it  will  bump  and  sputter,  like  a  mixture  of  hot 


1  Journal  Association  Official  Agricultural  Chemists,  Vol.  II,  No.   3,   1916. 

2  Patrick,   Household   Tests  for  the  Detection  of   Oleomargarine  and   Reno- 
vated Butter,  Farmers'  Bulletin  131. 


660  BACTERIOLOGICAL  ANALYSES 

grease  and  water  when  boiled,  and  it  will  produce  little  or  no  foam. 
Leach1  finds  that  a  very  slight  foam  is  sometimes  observable  with 
occasional  samples  of  renovated  butter,  but  nothing  like  the  abun- 
dant amount  of  foam  produced  by  genuine  butter. 

Appearance  of  the  Melted  Fat. — Provisional.2 — "Melt  from 
50  to  100  grams  of  butter  or  process  butter  at  50°  C.  The  curd 
from  butter  will  settle,  leaving  a  clear  supernatant  fat.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  supernatant  fat  in  the  case  of  process  butter  does  not 
assume  that  clear  appearance,  but  remains  more  or  less  turbid." 
Butter  which  has  been  overworked  will  also  melt  in  a  cloudy  man- 
ner.1 

The  Waterhouse  Test3 

Heat  about  50  cc.  of  well-mixed  sweet  milk,  or  sweet  skim  milk, 
in  a  beaker  to  boiling  and  add  from  5  to  10  grams  of  the  sample  to 
be  tested.  Stir,  preferably  with  a  small  wooden  stick,  until  all  the 
fat  is  melted.  Then  place  the  beaker  in  a  dish  of  ice-cold  water  and 
continue  the  stirring,  until  the  fat  hardens  and  solidifies.  If  the  fat 
is  oleomargarine,  it  can  be  readily  gathered  and  formed  by  the  stir- 
rer  into  one  lump  or  clot.  If  the  fat  is  genuine  butter,  or  renovated 
butter,  it  cannot  be  so  collected,  but  it  remains,  in  a  granulated  con- 
dition, distributed  throughout  the  milk  in  small  particles. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
BACTERIOLOGICAL  ANALYSES 

It  is  frequently  desirable  and  advantageous  for  the  creamery  to 
make  bacteriological  analyses  of  its  butter,  or  of  the  products  which 
enter  into  the  process  of  manufacture,  such  as  milk,  skim  milk, 
starter,  cream  before  and  after  pasteurization,  and  to  also  examine 
bacteriologically  some  of  its  equipment,  particularly  the  cream  cans, 
vats,  pipe  lines,  churns,  etc. 

Some  creameries  make  bacteriological  determinations  of  their 
butter  regularly,  either  of  each  churning,  or  once  per  week,  etc. 
Others  in  their  attempt  to  locate  the  cause  of  certain  flavor  defects 
or  inferior  keeping  quality,  resort  to  bacteriological  studies  of  cer- 
tain stages  of  the  process  of  manufacture. 

Many  of  the  butter  defects  are  not  caused  by  bacterial  action, 

1  Leach,  Food  Inspection  and  Analysis,  1914. 

2  Journal  Association  Official  Agricultural  Chemists,  Vol.  II,  No.  3,  1916. 

3  Parsons,  Journal  Am.  Chem.  Soc.,  23,  1901. 


BACTERIOLOGICAL  ANALYSES  661 

and  therefore  cannot  be  avoided  through  a  study  of  the  bacterial 
flora  of  the  product  or  the  equipment,  nor  through  the  inauguration 
of  precautions  which  minimize  bacteriological  contamination,  while 
others  are  known  to  be  of  bacterial  origin  and  in  the  latter  type  of 
cases  bacteriological  counts  may  lead  to  channels  through  which 
permanent  solution  may  be  made  possible. 

As  a  whole  the  direct  benefit  of  bacteriological  work  in  the 
creamery  is  very  limited,  but  such  work  may  be  of  value  indirectly 
inasmuch  as  the  results  are  an  index,  within  reasonable  limitations, 
of  the  thoroughness  with  which  some  of  the  more  important  work 
relating  to  quality  is  performed. 

While  it  is  obviously  beyond  the  province  of  this  volume  to  give 
detailed  directions  in  the  technique  of  bacteriological  analyses,  in  the 
preparation  of  culture  media  and  in  microscopic  study  of  bacteriolog- 
ical preparations,  for  all  of  which  the  reader  is  referred  to  Manuals 
on  Bacteriology,  it  is  deemed  advisable  to  here  offer  some  sugges- 
tions relating  to  these  special  products,  that  may  serve  for  the 
guidance  of  those  who  are  interested  in  a  bacteriological  study  of 
creamery  problems. 

Sampling. — Samples  of  milk,  skim  milk,  cream  and  similar 
products  are  best  taken  into  small  sterile  glass  jars  with  screw  top 
lined  with  cork  or  similar  material,  or  in  small  sterile  glass-stop- 
pered bottles.  The  liquid  from  which  the  sample  is  taken  must  be 
thoroughly  mixed  and  the  dipper  or  tube  with  which  the  sample  is 
taken  must  be  perfectly  sterile,  otherwise  the  results  are  not  depend- 
able. About  10  cc.  is  usually  sufficient. 

In  the  case  of  butter  the  sample  may  be  placed  into  a  sterile 
petri  dish  or  in  a  sterile  bottle  as  in  the  case  of  milk.  This  is  most 
conveniently  done  with  a  sterile  trier,  the  surface  of  the  plug  being 
removed  and  a  segment  from  one  to  two  inches  in  length  is  trans- 
ferred with  a  sterile  knife  or  spatula  to  the  petri  dish  or  bottle. 

All  samples  should  be  analyzed  as  soon  as  possible.  If  this  can- 
not be  done  immediately  the  receptacles  containing  them  should  be 
placed  on  ice  or  otherwise  kept  at  a  temperature  as  near  32°  F.  as 
possible.  Especially,  milk  and  cream  samples  should  be  immedi- 
ately cooled  to  35°  F.  or  below  and  kept  at  that  temperature  until 
needed. 


662  BACTERIOLOGICAL  ANALYSES 

Dilutions  for  Numerical  Counts. — For  dilutions  sterile,  glass 
stoppered  250  cc.  flasks  are  conveniently  used.  In  the  case  of  milk 
or  cream  use  2  cc  of  sample  and  198  cc.  of  sterile  water.  The  milk 
or  cream  is  most  readily  measured  and  transferred  to  the  dilution 
flask  by  the  use  of  sterile,  straight  stem,  bulbless  pipettes.  This 
constitutes  the  first  dilution. 

In  the  case  of  butter,  weigh  two  grams  of  the  sample  into  a 
tared  flask.  Mix  with  enough  sterile  water  at  a  temperature  of  98 
to  100°  F.  to  make  up  100  cubic  centimeters.  This  constitutes  the 
first  dilution.  If  yeast  and  mold  counts  only  are  made  of  butter, 
dilutions  may  be  dispensed  with  entirely.  In  this  case  the  butter 
sample  is  melted  at  low  heat  (not  exceeding  100°  F),  and  1  cc.  of 
this  warm  melted  butter  is  transferred  direct  to  the  petri  dish  to 
which  previously  was  added  1  cc.  of  tartaric  acid  and  the  plating  is 
finished  by  pouring  over  the  mixture  of  melted  butter  and  tartaric 
acid  10  cc.  of  nutrient  agar. 

Further  dilutions  of  milk,  cream  and  butter  are  made  in  a  similar 
manner  as  the  first  dilution,  using  in  the  place  of  the  original  sample, 
portions  of  the  diluted  sample.  Dilutions  should  be  sufficient  to 
limit  the  number  of  colonies  on  the  plates  to  about  50  to  100  colonies 
per  plate.  Whole  milk  as  it  arrives  at  the  factory  averages  a  total 
count  of  from  about  100,000  to  1,000,000  bacteria  per  cc.  Cream  at 
gathered  cream  creameries  contains  from  about  500,000  to 
500,000,000  bacteria  per  cc.  before  pasteurization  and  from  about 
1,000  to  300,000  bacteria  per  cc.  after  pasteurization.  Butter  made 
from  raw  gathered  cream  usually  contains  from  about  1,000,000  to 
2,000,000  bacteria  per  cc.,  and  butter  made  from  properly  pasteur- 
ized gathered  cream  contains  from  about  2,000  to  1,000,000  bacteria 
per  cc.  In  properly  pasteurized  cream  butter  the  count  of  yeast  and 
molds  is  usually  below  10  and  often  it  is  0.  When  above  10  colonies 
of  yeast  or  mold  or  both,  either  the  pasteurization  was  imperfect, 
or  the  butter  was  recontaminated  after  the  pasteurization  of  the 
cream,  or  the  count  includes  colonies  which,  though  they  may  thrive 
in  the  special  medium  used  for  yeast  and  molds  are  other  than  yeast 
and  molds. 


BACTERIOLOGICAL  ANALYSES  663 

Plating. — 'For  plating  the  following  media  are  recommended : 
Media  for  Total  Counts  and  also  for  Acidifiers 
4  grams  beef  extract 
10  grams  peptone 
30  grams  lactose 
4    grams  sodium  chloride 
12  grams  thread  agar 
1000  cc.  distilled  water 
Acidity  0.1  per  cent. 

For  acidifiers  add  1  cc.  of  sterile  litmus  solution  to  each  plate, 
before  pouring  the  agar. 

Media  for  Liquefiers 

4  grams  beef  extract 
10  grams  peptone 
30  grams  lactose 
4  grams  sodium  chloride 
150  grams  gelatin 
1000  cc.  distilled  water. 
Acidity  0.1  per  cent. 

Media  for  Yeasts  and  Molds 
4  grams  beef  extract 
10  grams  peptone 
12  grams  agar 
1000  grams  whey 

Acidity  0.2  per  cent.  Cv  . 

Add  1  cc.  of  sterile  1  per  cent  tartaric  acid  solution  to  each  plate 
before  pouring  the  medium  over  the  dilution. 

Incubation. — Incubate  agar,  litmus  agar  and  whey-  agar  plates 
at  35°  C.  (95°  F.)  for  at  least  three  days  before  making  counts. 
Incubate  gelatin  plates  at  21°  C.  (70°  F.)  for  four  to  five  days  be- 
fore making  counts. 

Making  Counts. — The  colonies  on  the  plates  are  counted  most 
conveniently  by  placing  the  plates  over  a  standard  counting  plate. 
In  the  absence  of  such  a  plate,  place  the  petri  dish  upside  down  on 
a  dark  surface  and  draw,  with  a  blue  crayon,  radial  lines,  dividing 
the  field  into  segments.  For  plates  containing  not  to  exceed  100 
colonies;  eight  to  sixteen  segments  are  sufficient  for  easy  counting. 


664 


ATOMIC  WEIGHTS 


Table    105.— International   Atomic   Weights 


Element 

Symbol 

.Weight 
Atomic 

Element 

Symbol 

Weight 
Atomic 

Aluminum            »  • 

•     Al 

2710 

Neodymium 

Nd 

14430 

Antimony    

Sb 

12020 

Neon     

Ne 

2020 

Argon                .... 

A 

3988 

Nickel                

Ni 

5868 

As 

7496 

Niton    (radium 

Barium           

Ba 

13737 

emanation) 

Nt 

22240 

Bismuth              •  •  • 

Bi 

28000 

Nitrogen 

N 

1401 

Boron 

B 

11  00 

Oscium 

Os 

10000 

Bromine        

Br 

7992 

Oxygen        

o 

1600 

Cadmium              .  . 

Cd 

11240 

Palladium 

Pd 

10670 

Cs 

13281 

Phosphorus     

p 

3104 

Ccilcium        

Ca 

4007 

Platinum         

Pt 

19520 

Carbon 

c 

1200 

Potassium 

K 

•30  If) 

Ce 

14025 

Praseodymium 

Pr 

14060 

Chlorine             .  .  . 

Cl 

3546 

Radium              .    . 

Ra 

22640 

Chromium     

Cr 

5200 

Rhodium      

Rh 

10290 

Cobalt        

Co 

5897 

Rubidium            .  .  . 

Rb 

8545 

Columbium     

Cb 

9350 

Ru 

101  70 

Coooer 

Cu 

6357 

Samarium      

Sa 

15040 

Dysprosium        ... 

Dy 

16250 

Scandium          .    . 

Sc 

A  A  If) 

Erbium 

Er 

16770 

Selenium 

Se 

70  ?n 

Europium    

Eu 

15200 

Silicon        

Si 

2830 

Fluorine 

F 

1900 

Silver 

ACT 

107  RR 

Gadolinium   

Gd 

15730 

Sodium    

•^s 

Na 

2300 

Gallium          

Ga 

6990 

Strontium           . 

Sr 

8763 

Ge 

7250 

Sulphur    

s 

3207 

Glucinum     

Gl 

910 

Tantalum    

Ta 

181  50 

Gold 

Au 

19720 

Tellurium 

Te 

127  50 

Helium     

He 

399 

Terbium     

Tb 

15920 

Holmium   

Ho 

1635 

Thallium           .  .   . 

Tl 

20400 

Hydrogen 

H 

1008 

Thorium 

Th 

23240 

In 

11480 

Thulium     

Tm 

16850 

Iodine  

I 

12692 

Tin 

S'n 

11000 

Iridium 

Ir 

19310 

Titanium 

Ti 

48  10 

Iron     

Fe 

5584 

Tungsten   

W 

18400 

Krypton     

Kr 

8292 

Uranum 

u 

238  50 

Lanthanum     

La 

139.00 

Vanadium    

V 

5100 

Lead 

Pb 

20710 

Xenon 

Xe 

13070 

Lithium    

Li 

694 

Ytterbium  (Neoyl- 

Lutecium   

Lu 

17400 

lerbium) 

Yb 

17200 

Magnesium     

Mg 

2432 

Ytterium        .... 

Yt 

8900 

Manganese    

Mn 

5493 

Zinc     .  .    . 

Zn 

65  37 

Mercury     

Hg 

20060 

Zirconium 

Zr 

0060 

Molybdenum    .... 

Mo 

96.00 

METRIC  AND  CUSTOMARY  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES        665 


Table  106. — Comparison  of  Metric  and  Customary 
Weights  and  Measures 


Customary 
weights  and 
measures, 

Equivalents  in 
metric  system. 

Metric 
weights  and 
measures. 

Equivalents  in 
customary  system. 

1  inch  

2  54  centimeters. 

1   meter    .  .  .  <  . 

39.37  inches. 

1  foot 

0  3048  meter 

1   meter 

1  0936  yards 

1  square  inch  .  . 

6.452   square    centi- 

1 square  centi- 

0.155 square  inch. 

meters. 

meter. 

1  square  foot.. 

9.29     square     deci- 

1  square  met- 

10.764 square  feet. 

meters. 

er. 

1  cubic  inch  .  .  . 

16.387    cubic    centi- 

1   cubic  centi- 

0.061 cubic  inch. 

meters. 

meter. 

1  cubic  foot.  .  . 

0.0283    cubic    meter. 

1    cubic    centi- 

0.0338 fluid  ounce. 

meter. 

1  fluid  ounce.. 

29.57    cubic    centi- 

1   cubic    deci- 

61.023 cubic  inches. 

quart  

meters. 
0.9464  liter. 

meter. 
1  liter  

1.0567  quarts 

gallon  

3.7854  liters. 

1   dekaliter 

2.6417  gallons 

grain 

64.8  milligrams. 

1  gram   . 

15  43  grains 

ounce    (av  ) 

28.35  grams. 

1  gram   

0.035274  ounce. 

pound   (av.)  . 

0.4536  kilogram. 

1   kilogram    .  . 

2.2046  pounds  (av.) 

666 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


INDEX 


Acid- 
determination  of 249,  593-600,  651 

effect  on  keeping  quality  of  but- 
ter     231-233 

in  butter 169,  220,  221,  549,  550 

in  constituents  of  sour  cream 169 

in  cream 244,  278,  292 

Acid  tests — 

of  butter  651 

of  cream 150,  593-601 

of  milk 593-601 

degrees  of 248,  600-601 

per  cents  of 248,  593-600 

Actual  overrun  395 

Adsorption    269 

Advertisers    672-711 

Aerating  cream  222-224 

Agitation  in  churn 293 

Annatto 301-303 

Annual  butter  production 26,  29,30 

Artificial   ripening    235 

Ash,  composition  of 551,  558 

Atomic  weights,  table 664 

B 

Babcock  test 21-23,  610M528 

Bacteria  in  butter 

. .  .183,  205,  213,  216,  217,  237,  560,  662 

Bacteria  in  cream 237,  562 

Bacteriological  analyses 660-663 

Barny  flavor  469 

Bath  room  in  creamery 44 

Bichromate  of  potassium 128 

Biological  properties  of  butter. .  .569-573 

Bitter  flavor 478,  479 

Bleached  butter 517,  518 

Blowing  cream 223-224 

Boxes 371,  374,  394 

"Breaking"  of  butter 271 

Brine  salting 326 

Brittle  body 505-507 

Broker    422 

Butter  classification 435 

Butter  color 300,  515 

Butter  consumption 441 

Butter  defects 466-530 

barny  flavor 469 

bitter  flavor  478,  479 

brittle  body .505-507 

cheesy  flavor 467 

coarse  flavor    501 

cooked  flavor 500,  501 


Butter  defects— 

cowy  flavor 465 

crumbly  body 505-507 

curdy  flavor  467 

dull  color  518,  519 

feed  flavors 61,  469,  47C 

fishy  flavor 456,  485-489 

flat  flavor 466 

garlic  flavor 61,  470,  472 

greasy  body 503,  504 

green  specks  528 

gritty  body 514-515 

leaky  body 511-514 

mealy  body 507-511 

metallic  flavor 456,  482-485 

moldy  butter 366,  472-476 

mottled  butter 519-525 

musty  flavor  469 

oily  flavor  479-482 

rancid  flavor 494-498 

salvy  body 504,  505 

scorched  flavor 500-501 

smothered  flavor 469 

sour  aroma 467 

stale  flavor 466 

storage  flavor 456-493 

tallowy  flavor 489-493 

too  high  color 516,  517 

too  light  color 517,  518 

unclean  flavor 468 

wavy  butter 519-525 

weak  body  502,  503 

weed  flavors 61,  470 

white  specks  525 

wild  onion  flavor 61,  470-472 

woody  flavor 337,  499,  500 

yeasty  flavor 476-478 

yellow  specks  525-528 

Butter  defects,  valuation  of 460 

Butter  Exchanges  426 

Butter  fat  constants 538 

Butterf at,  chemical  properties 

278,280,  531,  532,  538 

Butter  granules       270 

Butter  industry,  History 15-30 

influence  of  Babcock  test  on. . .  .21-23 
influence  of  centrifugal  separator 

on 19-21 

Buttermilk   311,  557 

loss  of  fat  in 402 

Butter  quotations   428 

Butter   rules,    New   York   Mercantile 
Exchange 432 


TH£  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


667 


Butter  rules — 

Chicago  Butter  and  Egg  Board. .  .435 

Butter  scoring 459-466 

Butter  standards,  various  countries.  .576 

Butter  workers 346 

Buying  milk  and  cream 31-60 


Can  covers 145 

Can  driers 145 

Can  steamers 145 

Can  washing 140 

at  cream  stations 145 

essentials  of 143 

Can  washers 141 

"Call,"  the  427 

Caloric  value,  of  butter 568,  569 

of  butterf at 568 

of  curd 568 

Capacity  of  separator 88 

Care  of  milk  and  cream  on  farm.. 60-67 

Carotin  300 

Centrifugal  force  factor 72 

Centrifugal  separation,  theory  of 71 

Cheesy  flavor  467 

Chicago  Butter  and  Egg  Board.  .426,  429 

Churn,  kinds  of 293 

preparation  of 296 

Churnability  of  cream 277-295 

acidity  of  cream 272,  292 

agitation  in  churn 293 

chemical  properties  of  fat 278,  280 

churning  temperature 278,  283 

fullness  of  churn 295 

richness  of  cream 278,  291 

speed  of  churn 294 

size  of  fat  globules 279 

time  of  holding 278,  290 

viscosity  of  cream 278,  282 

Churning   266-310 

Churning  difficulties 307 

Churning — 

philosophy  of  266 

temperature  of 278-283 

Churn  test 21 

Coal-tar  dyes 301 

Coalescence  of  butter  granules 501 

Coarse  flavor 501 

Coefficient  of  digestibility  of — 

animal  fats  567 

butterf  at 567 

vegetable  fats 568 

Cold  room,  in  creamery 43 

Commercial  starters 252,  253,  259 

Commission  merchant 422 

Commission  sales .422,  424 


Composite  samples  126 

Composition  of,  ash  in  butter ...551 

ash  in  buttermilk 557 

ash  in  colostrum  milk 553 

ash  in  cream 555 

ash  in  milk ] '  '553 

ash  in  separator  slime !!.'.!!  558 

ash  in  skimmilk 557 

ash  in  whey 553 

b«tter !.'..*.';  530^551 

putterfat  531,  532 

butttermilk 557 

colostrum  milk 553 

cream  175^  555 

dairy  products  .'.'.'.'.'.'.'.  530-558 

separator  slime 553 

skimmilk 555 

whey   558 

Curd    546 

Concentration  points  58 

Condensed  milk,  for  starter  making.  .261 

Construction  of  cream  stations 53 

Construction  of  creameries 36-45 

Contents,  table  of 7-12 

Contract  sales 424 

Cooked  flavor '. .  .500^501 

Cooling  cream  65,  194,  206 

Corrosive  sublimate  tablets 128 

Cowy  flavor 469 

Cream,  age  of 66 

Cream  grading 118-125 

Cream  cooling  tanks 66 

Creamometer 21 

Cream  outlet 77 

Cream  ripening 225-251 

effect  on  flavor 226 

effect  on  exhaustiveness  of  churn- 
ing  229 

effect  on  keeping  quality 230 

Cream  routes  47 

Cream  scales 138 

Cream  samples 135 

Cream  screw 77,  98,  104 

Cream  stations 51 

Cream  station  operator 54 

Cream  station  shortages 54 

Cream  transportation 67 

Creameries,  distribution  in  U.  S 29 

Creamery  corporations   35 

Creamery  organization  31 

Creamery  promoter 24-26 

Crumbly  body 505-507 

Cubes 371,  374,  394 

Curd 398,  546 

affinity  for  lime 165 

determination 650 

Curdy  flavor 467 


668 


THE;  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


D 

Dairy  butter,  marketing  of 417 

Damaged  cans  145 

Deep-setting  method 69,  70 

Definitions  and  standards 573,  577 

Delivered  sales 422 

Digestibility  of  butter 566 

Direct  shipper  system 57 

Direct  deliveries 46 

Disease  germs,  in  butter 561 

Distribution  of  butter , 439 

Drainage  and  drains 38 

Dry-salting   325 

Dull  color  518-519 

"Dumping"  milk  and  cream 138 


Elgin  Board  of  Trade 426,  428,  430 

Enameled  vats 241,  263 

Enzymes 183,  213,  214 

Exports 442-445 


Factory  separators 80 

Farmers'  co-operative  associations ...  56 
Farm    separator    creamery,    overrun 

in 406,  411 

Fat  globules 278,  279 

size  of 535-537 

Fat-soluble  A 569-573 

Fat  standard  of  butter 574 

Fat  tests,  Babcock 611 

gravimetric 638 

Gerber 628-630 

Hepburn 634-638 

Kohman  639 

Shaw 639-644 

Feed  flavors 61,  227,  469,  470 

Firkins   372 

Fishy  flavor 209 

Flat  flavor 466 

Flies  in  creameries 39,  41 

Floors  in  creameries 38 

Foamy  cream .476,  478 

Food  value,  butter 566-569 

Fore  warmers  139,  189 

Formaldehyde 128 

Freezing  point,  milk 552 

Frozen  cream  . . . 133 

Fuel  value,  butter 568,  569 

Fulness  of  churn . .  .  .295 


Garlic  flavor 61,  470 

Gas  in  churn 304 

Grades  of  butter..  ..431 


Grades  of  cream 11&-125 

Grading  butter 435 

cream 118-125 

Greasy  body 503,  504 

Green  spots  in  butter 528-530 

Gritty  body 514-515 

H 

Hand  separators  82 

Healthfulness  of  butter 559 

Heating  creameries 45 

Holding  process 196-207 

I 

Imports .442-447 

Independent  cream  buyer 55 

Insoluble  fats 533 

Inspection,  of  butter 431 

Insulation  of,  ammonia  pipes 45 

brine  pipes 45 

cold  room   43 

steam  pipes  45 

water  pipes  45 


Joint  stock  companies 33,  34 

Jobber 422 

K 

Kinds  of  starter .' 252 


Lactose .492,  548-550 

determination  of 651 

Ladles 588 

Leaky  body .511-514 

Legal  standards  by  states 578-579 

Light,  in  creameries 39 

Lime,  action  in  sour  cream 172 

affinity  for  curd 172 

Lime  carbonate  151 

hydrate 151 

oxide 151 

Lime  mix 156,  157,  160,  163,  172,  179 

addition  of  to  cream 172 

reaction  in  cream 167 

Location  of  creameries 36 

M 

Management,  of  patron 59 

Mammalian  milks   554,  555 

Marketing  and  markets 412-447 

Market  requirements  414 

Mealy  butter 134,  139,  507-51 1 

Melting  point  of  fats 533 

Metallic  flavor  209,  456,  482-485 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


669 


Methyl  orange  indicator 152 

Milk,  composition  of 552 

separation  of  68 

Milk  sugar .548-550 

Minnesota  law  on  neutralization. ..  .575 

Moisture  396,  538 

Moisture  content,  affected  by  size  of 

fat  globules 537 

Moisture  control 357,  538-545 

Moisture,  effect  on  quality  of  butter.  .545 

Moisture  ruling 573 

Moisture  tests  630-634 

accuracy  of  404 

Mojonnier  test 651-658 

Moldy  butter 366,  472-476 

Mother  starter 254-259 

Mottled  butter  519-525 

Musty  flavor 469 

Mutual   co-operative   creamery  asso- 
ciations    32 

N 

Natural  ripening 234 

Natural  starters 252 

Navy  butter,  directions  for  packing.  .391 

Neutralization  148-180,  493 

object  of 148 

composition  of  butter 177 

Neutralizing,  directions  179,  180 

experiments 161-179 

formula  157 

tables   158-159 

New  York  Board   of   Health   lacto- 
meter   603 

New  York  Mercantile  Exchange 

426,  428,  429 

Non-volatile  fats. . 533 


Oiling  systems  85 

Oil  test 22 

Oily  flavor 479-482 

Oleomargarine,  detection  of 659-660 

Overloading  butterworkers   349 

Overripening  247 

Overrun   394-412 

accuracy  of  weights  and  tests .  399-407 

composition  of  butter .396 

mechanical  losses   402 

actual' 395 

theoretical   395 


Package,  consumers'  382 

Packing  butter 364-394 

Packing  cost 389 


Packing  farm  butter 383 

butter  for  exhibits 385 

butter  for  parcel  post 384 

butter  for  scoring  contests 385 

Packing,  loss  of  moisture 387 

Packing  in  boxes. 381 

Paraffining  butter  tubs '.367-369 

Parchment  liners  and  wrappers 369 

Phenplphthalein   indicator 152,  250 

Physical  structure  of  butterfat 535 

Power  requirements  87 

Power  separators   80 

Preservatives    for   milk   and    cream 

samples 128,  366 

Printers    377-378 

Printing  377 

Prints  375 

Proportion  of  skim  milk  to  cream...  77 

Proprietary  creameries   34,  35 

Pasteurization 181-224 

effect  on  acidity  of  cream 221 

effect  on  body  of  butter 213 

effect  on  disease  germs 183 

effect  on  exhaustiveness  of  churn- 
ing   218 

effect  on  flavor 181 

effect  on  keeping  quality 182 

effect  on  score  of  butter. 214 

flash  process 196 

flash    and    holding    process    com- 
bined   207 

holding  process 196 

object  of 181 

temperature  control 192,  207 

temperature  recorders 194 

Pasteurizers,  capacity 211 

cleaning  of 208 

durability 211 

expense  of  operation 212 

flash  pasteurizers  185,  186 

vat  pasteurizers  196 


Quevenne  lactometer  602 


Rancid  flavor  494-498 

Receiving  milk  and  cream 118 

Regenerative  heaters  188 

Renovated  butter 581-588 

Renovated  butter,  detection  of... 659-660 

Retinning  cans 147 

Retinning  vats 209,  212,  263 

Rich  cream 278,  291 

conditions  affecting  it 102-117 

Richness  of  milk 104 

Ripening  cream  225-251 


670 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


Ripening  temperatures 238-243 

Ripening  vats 239-242 

Rusty  cans   146 


Salt  ...........V.... 398,  514 

Ahlsberg  process 332 

amount  of  323 

composition  of 547 

bacteria  in  . . .'.' 329 

chemical  analyses .333 

coastals  327 

effect  on  disease  germs  in  butter.. 342 
effect  on  keeping  quality  of  but- 
ter  338 

effect  on  moisture  content  of  but- 
ter  343 

Grainer  process  331 

physical  properties  of 334 

purity  of 329 

quality  of 329 

solubility  of 335 

vacuum  process  332 

Salted  butter 530-551 

Salting  butter 322-346 

Salt  tests  644-650 

Hunziker  and  Hosman 647-650 

Kohman  645 

official  method  645 

Perkins    646-647 

Shaw 645-646 

Salvy  butter 504,  505 

Sample  jars 126 

Sampling  cream 130 

Sampling  milk  125 

Scorched  flavor 500-501 

Scoring  starter 265 

Scoring  butter  459-466 

Scores  of  butter 217 

Selling  butter  locally 418 

Separation  of  milk 68 

Separator  slime 558 

Sewerage  disposal 36 

Shallow-pan  method 69 

Single  samples 126 

Skimmilk,  composition  556 

loss  of  fat  in 402 

outlet . 76 

powder 261 

Skimming  efficiency 90 

Smothered  flavor 469 

Sodium  carbonate 152 

hydrate 153-170 

Solidification   274-278 

Solidifying  point  of  fats 274,  533 


Soluble  fats 533 

Sour  aroma  in  butter 467 

Specific  gravity,  determination.  .601-608 

of  butterfat 606 

of  buttermilk 557 

of  cream . .  .555,  606,  607 

of  milk  552,  554,  555,  606 

of  skimmilk 556,  606 

of  water 606 

of  whey  558 

Specific  heat  of — 

cream 555 

milk-.. 552 

skimmilk    556 

whey 558 

Speculating  in   futures 425 

Speed  of  churn 294 

Speed  of  coils 203 

Stale  flavor  466 

Standard  Babcock  glassware 611 

Standard  cream  scales 621 

Standard  of  acidity 149 

Standardizing  cream  for  acid 148 

Standardizing    milk    and    cream    for 

fat   589-593 

Standardizing  quality  of  butter 417 

Starters    251-265 

Starter,  amount  of 242,  265 

Starter  ripening 250 

Starter  vats 262 

Startoline 254 

State  brands  417 

Sticky  churns 299 

Stopping  churn 304 

Storage 447-459 

Storage  conditions  451 

air,  light  and  heat 453 

humidity 453 

temperature 454 

Storage  flavor 456-493 

Storage,  effect  on — 

quality  of  butter 456-459 

salt 337 

Storage,  commercial  stocks  in 449 

Storage,  shrinkage  in  weight 455 

Store  room  42 

Straining  cream 300 

Surface  coil  coolers 195 

Surface  tension  .  .  .268 


Tallowy  flavor   209,  489-493 

Thickening  of  cream  in  churn 270 

Tins  372,  374 

cost  of  packing 390 

Tins  for  U.  S.  navy 392 


THE:  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


671 


Total  solids- 
determination  of 608-610 

tables 609-610 

Track  sales  .- 423 

Transportation,  co-operative 417 

Tubs 374,  394 

packing  of 374 

paraffining  366 

preparation  of 366 

u 

Unclean  flavor  468 

Unsalted  butter  530 

Ultra  violet  ray  process 321 


Vat  pasteurization 196-207 

Ventilation    41-42 

Viscosity  of  cream 27&-2S2 

Volatile  fats  533 

w 

Water-dilution  method 70 

Water  droplets  in  butter 272,  521 

Water  filters 320-322 

Waterhouse  test 660 

Washing  butter 311-322 

Wash  water — 

addition  of 311 

effect  on  moisture  in  butter 315 

overchurning  in  wash  water 315 

purity  of  320 

temperature  of 313 


Water  supply : 36 

Wavy  butter 519-525 

Weak  body 502,  503 

Weedy  flavors 61,  470 

Weighing  milk  and  cream 137 

Weights  and  measures,  tables 665 

Weights  of  butter,  accuracy  of 404 

Wet-salting 326 

Whey  butter 580,  581 

Whey  butter,  Wisconsin  law 581 

Whey,  composition 558 

White  specks  in  butter 525 

Whole  milk  creamery,  overrun  in... 405 

Wholesale  produce  trade. 421 

Wholesale  receiver  422 

Wild  onion  flavor 61,  470,  472 

Woody  flavor 337,  499,  500 

Working  butter 346-363 

amount  of  352 

effect  on  body 353 

effect  on  color 353 

effect  on  flavor 360 

effect  on  keeping  quality 360 

effect  on  moisture  content 360 

X 

Xanthophyll    300 


Yeasty  flavor  476-478 

Yellow  A.  B.  and  O.  B 301 

Yellow  specks 525-528 


672  THE:  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


INDEX  TO  ADVERTISERS 


Page 

Allwood  Sales  Co.,  Milwaukee,  Wis 674 

-Associated  Manufacturers'  Co.,  Waterloo,  la 673 

Bausch  and  Lomb  Optical  Co.,  Rochester,  N.  Y 674 

Boerner-Fry  Company,  Iowa  City,  la 675 

Buhl  Stamping  Co.,  Detroit,  Mich 676 

D.  H.  Burrell  &  Co.,  Little  Falls,  N.  Y 677 

J.  G.  Cherry  Co.,  Cedar  Rapids,  la 678 

Colonial  Salt  Co.,  Akron,  O 689 

Creamery  Package  Mfg.  Co.,  Chicago,  111 679 

Davis- Watkins-Dairymen's  Mfg.  Co.,  Chicago,  111 681-2-3 

De  Laval  Separator  Co.,  Chicago,  111 680 

Elyria  Enameled  Products  Co.,  Elyria,  0 684 

Fairbanks,  Morse  &  Co.,  Chicago,  111 685 

J.  B.  Ford  Co.,  Wyandotte,  Mich 686 

General  Laboratories,  Madison,  Wis 687 

Geuder-Paeschke  &  Frey  Co.,  Milwaukee,  Wis 688 

Glass  Coating  Company,  Cleveland,  0 689 

Chr.  Hansen's  Laboratory,  Little  Falls,  N.  Y 702 

Independent  Silo  Co.,  St.  Paul,  Minn.. 691 

Jalco  Motor  Company,  Union  City,  Ind 690 

Jensen  Creamery  Machinery  Co.,  L.  I.  C.,  New  York 692-3 

Kalamazoo  Vegetable  Parchment  Co.,  Kalamazoo,  Mich 691 

Kelly  Island  Lime  &  Transport  Co.,  Cleveland,  0 694 

King  Ventilating  Co.,  Owatonna,  Minn 695 

Lathrop-Paulson   Company,   Chicago,   111 696 

Mojonnier  Bros.  Co.,  Chicago,  111 697 

Louis  F.  Nans,  Chicago,  111 698 

Paterson  Parchment  Paper  Co.,  Passaic,,N.  J 694 

Peters  Machinery  Company,  Chicago,  111 699 

Pfaudler  Company,  Rochester,  -N.  Y 700-1 

Preservaline  Mfg.  Co.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 702 

Rice  and  Adams  Corporation,  Buffalo,  N.  Y 707 

Rock  Island  Plow  Co.,  Rock  Island,  111 703 

E.  H.  Sargent  &  Co.,  Chicago,  111 705 

L.  C.  Sharp  Manufacturing  Co.,  Plattsmouth,  Neb 704 

Sharpies  Separator  Co.,  West  Chester,  Pa 706 

Sturges  and  Burn  Mfg.  Co.,  Chicago,  111 707 

C.  J.  Tagliabue  Mfg.  Co.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y 708 

Toledo  Scale  Company,  Toledo,  O 709 

Torsion  Balance  Co.,  New  York 707 

Worcester  Salt  Co.,  New  York . .  fc 710 


THE  BUTTKR  INDUSTRY 


673 


THE"IOWA" 

CURVED  DISC  BOWL 

THE  "IOWA"  is  different  from  all  other  centrifugal 
cream  separators,  because  it  is  the  only  separator 
with  a  patented  "Curved  Disc"  bowl.     The  con- 
struction   of    the    "  Curved   Disc "    Bowl   enables   the 
"  IOWA"  to  extract  all  the  butterfat  from  hot  or  cold 
milk    under  all    farm    conditions.      The  Babcock  test 
proves  that   the  "Curved  Disc"  Bowl  is  the  world's 
closest  skimming  device. 

10W* 

CPE  AM    SEPARATOR 

OUTSKIMMED  AH  Competing  Separators. 

In  the  International  skimming  contests,  made  by  the  Jury  of  Dairy  Experts  at  the 
last  World's  Fair,  the  "IOWA"  Cream  Separator  OUTSKIMMED  all  competing 
separators. 

If  you  are  interested  in  these  skimming 
tests,  send  for  catalogue,  describing  the 
"IOWA"  with  the  patented  "Curved  Disc" 
Bowl. 


The  "IOWA"  is  not  only  the  closest 
skimming  separator,  but  it  is  the  easiest 
running  and  most  durable. 

The  gears  used  in  the  "IOWA"  are  a 
combination  of  the  spur  and  spiral  type,  with 
the  exceptionally  low  gear  ratio  of  7  to  1. 
The  combination  of  these  two  types  of  gears 
produces  a  noiseless,  perfectly  smooth  and 
easy  running  separator. 


Established  1 898.  Our  twenty-two  years  of  con- 
tinuous separator  manufacturing  experience  enables 
us  to  produce  the  "  IOWA"— the  highest  quality 
Cream  Separator  ever  built. 

In  our  modern  separator  factory  we  have  built 
complete,  over  a  half  million  ( 500,000 )  cream 
separators. 


"World's  Best  by  Actual  Test" 

Associated  Manufacturers  Co.,  Waterloo, Iowa,  U.S.A. 


674 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


MODEL  FFS  8 


Bauscli  [omb 

Microscopes 

STANDARDS  OF   OPTICAL  AND 
MECHANICAL  EFFICIENCY 

Model  FFS  8  is  especially  suitable  for 
bacteriological  work.  Has  coarse  and 
fine  focusing  adjustments,  with  adjust- 
ment heads  on  side  of  arm;  iris  dia- 
phragm; three  objectives — including  oil 
immersion — in  revolving  nosepiece;  two 
eyepieces  and  an  Abbe  condenser  in 
quick-acting  screw  substage.  Number  of 
magnifications  obtainable  ranges  from 
50  to  1260.  Construction  is  rugged,  and 
black  crystal  finish  on  arm  and  base 
unusually  durable. 

Write  for  catalog  describing 
this  and  other  models 

Bausch  &  [pmb  Optical  <£>. 

NEW* YORK       WASHINGTON     SAN  FRANCISCO 

CHICAGO  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y.  LONDON 

Leading  American  Makers  of 
High  Grade  Optical  Products 


ALLWOOD 


Milk  of  Magnesia  Lime 


The  Perfect  Neutralizer 


By  the  use  of  this  material  you  are  assured  uniform,  reliable 
and  satisfactory  neutralization.  Its  high  standard  of  quality 
has  been  proven  by  continuous  use  in  thousands  of  creameries. 
For  further  particulars,  address, 

ALLWOOD  SALES  COMPANY 

MILWAUKEE  WISCONSIN 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


OlDENGLOWBUTTERCOLOR 


PURELY  VEGETABLE 


fT'OR  the  butter  maker  who  is 
JL   more  than  ordinarily  particu- 
lar there  is  no  substitute  for 
the  GOLDEN  GLOW. 


A  single  trial  of  this,  an  old 
and  standard  color,  will 
convince  you  of  its  excep- 
tional merit. 


Original  orders  of  any 
size  will  be  sent  transpor- 
tation charges  paid.     The 
understanding  will  be  that  if  Golden 
Glow    does    not      prove     exadtly 
what    you    have     always     wished 
for  in  the  way  of   a   butter  color 
it  is  to  be    returned    at    our   ex- 
pense. 

On  the  primary  points  of 
quality  and  economy  we  invite 
comparison. 

It  will  be  a  pleasure  on  request  to  send  a 
free  sample  for  trial 


Quality 

and 
Economy 


BOERNER-FRY  COMPANY 


IOWA  CITY,  IOWA 


676 


THE  BUTTKR  INDUSTRY 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY  677 


The  "Simplex"  Combined  Churn 
and  Butter  Worker 

(Patented) 


No.  6  Cast  Frame  Type 
Showing  Butter  Worker  in  Position 


The  only  fully  Automatic  Combined  Churn 

and  Butter  Worker.   Churns  the  cream,  works 

and  delivers  the  Butter  on  tray  ready  to  pack. 

Used  in  all  Dairy  Countries  of  the  World. 

Also  "SIMPLEX"  Link  Blade  Cream  Separa- 
tors and  Milk  Clarifiers,  "SIMPLEX"  Pas- 
teurizers, "SIMPLEX"  Sanitary  Milk  Pumps, 
"FACILE"  Babcock  Testers  and  full  line  of 
apparatus  for  Butter  and  Cheesemaking  and 
handling  of  milk. 


D.  H.  Burrell  &  Company 

Little  Falls,  New  York,  U.  S.  A. 


Sendfor 
Special  Circulars 


678 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


The  Cedar  Rapids  manufacturing  plant  of  the  J.  G.  Cherry  Company 

Everything  in  Equipment 

And  Many  Items  of  Current  Supplies  for  the 
Modern  Buttermaker 

The  line  of  creamery  machinery  manufactured  by 
the  J.  G.  Cherry  Company  includes  the  well  known 


Dreadnaught  Churn 
Perfection  Churn 
Haugdahl  Starter  Can 
Jensen  Flash  Pasteurizer 
Peerless  Flash  Pasteurizer 
Edwards  Culture  Can 


Cherry  Ripener 
Simpson  Printer 
Friday  Printer 
Tubular  Coolers 
Cherry  Forewarmer 
Cherry  Moisture  Test 


Our  Buttermakers  catalog  and  Hand  Book  is  a  safe  guide 
and  ever-present  help.  Ask  for  it. 


J.G. CHERRY  COMPANY 


^RAPIDS 
IOWA 


THE:  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


ALTHOUGH  a  good  buttermaker  can  make  good  butter  with  almost 
any  old  churn,  he  can^make  much  better  butter  with  a  modern, 
efficient  machine. 

The  Dual  Combined  Churn  and  Butterworker  is  constructed 
on  the  correct  mechanical  principle,  and  as  a  result  most  prize-winning 
butter  is  made  in  a  Dual. 

The  Dual  works  the  butter  evenly  between  the  rolls.  Other  two  roll 
machines  do  not  have  the  proper  spacing  between  the  rolls.  The  one-roll 
churn  never  could  properly  work  butter — it  simply  mashes  it  over  the 
edge  of  a  shelf. 

Headquarters  for  Dairy  Equipment 

For  thirty  years  we  have  been  serving  the  dairy  industry — have  grown 
with  it — and  now  have  the  most  complete  line  of  dairy  machinery  and 
supplies  (consisting  of  over  5,000  different  items,)  in  the  world. 
YOUR  INQUIRIES  ARE  EARNESTLY  SOLICITED 

The  Creamery  Package  Mfg.  Company 

SALES    BRANCHES: 

(Write  to  nearest  one) 


CHICAGO,  61-67  W.  Kinzie  St. 
NEW  YORK,  47  W.  34th  St. 
SAN  FRANCISCO,  699  flattery  St. 
BUFFALO,  133-137  Swan  St. 
OMAHA,  113-15-17  S.  Tenth  St. 


PORTLAND,  ORE.,  6-8  N.  Front  St. 
MINNEAPOLIS,  318-320  Third  St.,N. 
TOLEDO,  OHIO,  119  St.  Glair  St. 
WATERLOO,  IOWA,  406  Sycamore  St. 
KANSAS  CITY,  931  W.  Eighth  St. 


PHILADELPHIA,  1907  Market  St. 


680 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


THE  REASON  FOR. 


Lie  Laval  Leadership 

Every  one  who  has  given  sound  thought  or  considera- 
tion to  the  question,  knows  that  the  name  DE  LAVAL 
stands  today-r- as  it  has  since  1878 — for  leadership  in  quality  and 


There  is  always  a  good  reason  for  every  lasting  success. 

Years  of  actual  use  in  the  hands  of  nearly  three  million 
users  the  world  over  have  demonstrated  beyond  question  the  su- 
periority of  the  De  Laval  hand  and  factory  size  separators.  They 
have  met  the  requirements  of  every-day  use  in  the  best  possible 


Likewise,  the  other  members  of  the  De  Laval  family  — 

the  Clarifiers,  Emulsors  and  special  Centrifugal  machines 
of  various  kinds,  have  been  designed  to  meet  the  needs  of  their 
users  in  the  most  efficient  way  and  for  that  reason  each  one  of 
the  line  stands  in  the  front  rank  in  prestige  and  reputation. 

The  reason  for  De  Laval  leadership  is  in  service  ren- 
dered. The  De  Laval  machines  work  better,  last  longer, 
and  produce  the  greatest  possible  returns  for  every  dollar  in- 
vested. 

There  is  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction,  as  well  as  extra 

profit,  in  owning  and  using  the  best  machinery  and  equip- 
ment and  there  is  no  good  reason  why  any  responsible  farmer  or 
creameryman  or  ice  cream  manufacturer  should  be  satisfied  with 
any  other  style  of  machine. 

Make  up  your  mind  to  know  the  facts  about  the  history 

and  performance  of  the  machines  you  are  planning  to 
buy.  We  covet  the  most  rigid  investigation  and  comparison — and 
will  gladly  leave  the  decision  to  your  judgment. 

The  De  Laval  Separator  Co. 

165  Broadway,  New  York  29  E.  Madison  St.,  Chicago 

61  Beale  St.,  San  Francisco!  Cal. 


THE:  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


681 


Progress  Can  Washer 

WITH  this  machine  in  your  plant  you  are  enabled  to  furnish 
the  producers  with  clean,  sterile  and  dry  milk  cans.     This 
service  helps  to  lower  your  bacteria  count  to  a  minimum. 
Whether  you  wash  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  cans  per  day  you  will 
find  this  machine  a  profitable  investment.     It    is  practical.    It 
occupies  small  floor  space  and  uses  very  little  power.     It  saves 
waste,  time,  labor  and  money.     Write  for  information. 

DAVIS-\\^TKINS  DAIRYMEN'S  MFG.CO. 

ADDRESS   NEAREST  OFFICE 


JERSEY  CITY.   N.  J. 

NORTH  CHICAGO.   ILL. 
ATLANTA.  GA. 


DENVER    COLO 

SAN  FRANCISCO.  CALIF. 
LOS  ANGELES    CALIF. 

SEATTLE,  WASH. 


THE  BUTTE* 


A  Wonderful  Churn 

YOUR  buttermaker  is  a  success  at  his  job  if  you  give 
him  the  right  took  to  work  with.  He  takes  great 
pride  in  properly  handling  efficient  machinery. 

He  is  just  as  proud  of  a  pure-bred  churn  as  you  are  of 
your  pure-bred  Jerseys,  Holsteins,  Packards  or  Pierce- 
Arrows,  Don't  you  see  how  important  it  is  that  you  give 
him  a  modern  Disbrow? 

It  is  just  as  rssrnrial  to  him  as  a  good  cook  store  is  to  your  wife, 
put  up  with  almost  anything  CDC,  but  sac  must  have  a  good 
It's  *Vf  thing  her  neighbors  see  anj  ^jmjfr.  It  makes  her 
finable.  She  turns  out  better  food  for  your  family  by  having 
•OTU  her  kitchen  because  of  it. 


Write  for  a  copy 
free,  and  there  is  no  obligation. 


for  you.    CD  it 
of  it  all  other  tools  are 
The  Disbrow  Omni  Book."   It  i 


DAMS  -\VT\TKINS  DAIRYMEN'S  MFG.CO. 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


683 


Minnetonna  Cream  Ripener 

A  beautiful  machine  for  the  man  who  wants  the  right  appear* 
well  as  efficiency.     The  two  are  combined  in  the  Mint 

to  build  this  marhinr  so  it  wfll  give  customer  satisfaction  and  honest 
value  for  the  money  invested. 


The  Miniirf  <••**  Cream  Ripener  pictured  above  is 


with  wfcit 


enameled  sheets  and  tinned  copper  trimmings.  The  cover  is  tinned 
copper  completely  finished  inside  and  outside.  You  can  have  yours  for 
either  motor  or  belt  drive.  This  machinr  will  add  much  to  the  at- 
tractiveness of  your  plant. 

If  you  prefer,  you  can  purchase  this  same  efficient  cream  ri 
a  plain  finished  steel  body.   Some  folks  like  the  wood 
Cream  Ripener;  you  can  have  one  of  these,  which  of 
as  much  money  as  the  steel  or  enamel  finished  machines.   As  to  capacity . 
we  make  many  sizes  from  the  small  one  holding  200  gallons  up  to  those 

Teflusthe 


Write  our  nearest  office  for  full  n 
size  you  are  interested  in.    Your  order  wfll  have  our 
Let  us  have  it  quickly. 


DAMS-WMKINS  DAIRYMEN'S  MFG.CO. 


ADDRESS  NEAREST  OFFICE 


684 


THE:  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


View  of  Elyria  tanks  in  the  modern  plant  of  the 
Stroh  Products  Company,  Detroit,  Mich. 

ELYRIA 

SEAMLESS,  ONE-PIECE,   GLASS- ENAMELED 
EQUIPMENT 

is  rapidly  coining  to  be  the  standard  in  all  modernly 
equipped  dairies  and  butter-making  establishments. 
This  is  because  it  is  100  per  cent,  efficient. 

It  has  the  permanence  of  steel  and  the  cleanliness 
and  sanitation  of  glass.  Without  the  semblance  of 
crevice  or  seam  for  the  lodgment  of  bacteria,  with  an 
inside  surface  of  hard,  glossy,  deep-blue  enamel  that 
is  as  easy  to  clean  as  a  china  bowl,  Elyria  Equipment  is 
the  safest  with  which  to  take  care  of  milk  and  milk 
products,  enabling  the  Buttermaker  to  do  his  work 
with  certainty  of  economy  and  absolute  sanitation. 

The  Elyria  Company  is  prepared  to  show  that  the 
installation  of  Elyria-Equipment  will,  in  a  compara- 
tively short  time,  save  more  than  the  original  cost  of 
the  investment. 

We  shall  be  glad  to  send  complete  literature  to  any 
one  engaged  in  the  Buttermaking  Industry. 

The  Elyria  Enameled  Products  Co. 

ELYRIA,  OHIO,  U.  S.  A. 

New  York  Chicago  Pittsburgh  Los  Angeles  San  Francisco 


THE:  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


685 


Triple 
Beam 

in  Agate 
Bearing 
above  cap 


Fairbanks 

No.  10105 
Receiving  Scale 

Has  Full  Capacity  Beam 
and  Tare  Bar 

Marked: 

Upper  Bar  200  IBs.  x  1  Ib. 
Main    Bar4001bs.  x  100  Ibs. 
Lower  Bar  100  Ibs.  x  %  Ib. 


Fairbanks,  Morse  &  Co. 

900  So.  Wabash  Ave. 

CHICAGO 


686 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


Facts  Mold  Opinions 


IN  EVERY  walk  of  life  opinions  are 
fashioned  by  facts.  Horseless  vehicles 
were  deemed  unlikely  until  the  automobile 
came  into  existence  and  what  was  even 
more  recent,  much  improved  cleaners  for  use 
in  dairies,  butter  and  cheese  factories  were 
considered  impossible  until 


became  a  fact. 

Today  the  rapidly  increasing  use  of  this 
cleaner  and  the  wide  recognition  awarded 
it  by  leading  authorities  in  every  depart- 
ment of  dairying  and  its  allied  industries 
plainly  suggests  how  much  it  will  profit 

you,  provided  you  utilize 

these  facts. 

Wherever  the  facts  concern- 
ing Wyandotte  Dairyman's 
Cleaner  and  Cleanser  are 
known  the  opinion  is  the  same 
— it  cleans  clean. 


IN  EVERY. 
PACKAGE 


ORDER  FROM  YOUR  SUPPLY  HOUSE 


The  J.  B.  Ford  Co.,  Sole  Mnfrs., Wyandotte,  Mich 


THE:  BUTTKR  INDUSTRY  687 


For  Sterilizing 


P*HE  control  of    bacteria  during  every  step  in  the 
handling  of  dairy  products — beginning  at  the  cow 
and  ending  with  the  consumer —  is  of  such  import- 
ance that  easy  means  of  accomplishing  it  must  be  within 
the  reach  of  everyone  engaged  in  handling  such  products. 

B-K  provides  a  sterilizer  effective  in  the  hands  of  any 
butter-maker,  cheese  maker,  or  dairy  farmer.  It  is  easy 
to  use — does  its  work  quickly — at  a  low  operating  cost — 
requiring  no  extra  labor  or  equipment  for  its  application. 

In  addition  it  is  economical  in  actual  use  and  produces  a 
degree  of  cleanliness  not  to  be  obtained  without  it. 

B-K  provides  bacteria  control  in  all  kinds  of  equipment. 
Being  liquid,  it  flows  over  and  into  every  spot  and  corner 
that  milk  or  cream  will  touch.  As  the  B-K  rinse  flows 
through  the  equipment  it  dissolves  bacteria  and  casein 
sediment  alike,  leaving  a  condition  of  cleanliness  difficult 
to  obtain  by  any  other  method. 

Our  Laboratories  and  Service  Department  have  given 
expert  service  to  B-K  users  for  years.  We  have  had  a 
large  experience  in  the  field,  under  practical  conditions, 
and  are  prepared  to  give  help  in  bacteria  control  to  all 
who  need  it. 

Write  us  for  information  and  free  bulletins. 


General  Laboratories 

110  So.  Dickinson  Street 
Madison,  Wisconsin 


688 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


SANITARY  MllKCAN 


WILL  SERVE  YOU  LONG  AND  WELL 


BUTTER  INDUSTRY  689 


How  To  Prevent  Streaks  and 
Mottles  in  Butter 

Prof.  Hunziker  asserts  that  streaks  and  mottles  in  butter  are 
caused  by: 

(1)  —  Incomplete  fusion  of  salt  and  water  in  butter. 

(2)  —  Faulty  mechanical  condition  of  the  butter  workers. 

(3)  —  Overloading  of  the  machine. 

Not  one  of  these  causes  but  what  may  be  overcome  by  any 
buttermaker  who  takes  pride  in  his  product.  With  Colonial  Salt 
the  buttermaker  will  never  be  troubled  with  incomplete  fusion. 
The  other  two  causes  are  mechanical  and  can  be  easily  remedied. 
Flake  salt  dissolves  quicker  than  cube  salt  of  the  same  size  grain. 
Colonial  salt  is  the  only  all  flaked  Butter  Salt  on  the  market.  It 
will  produce  over-run,  color,  flavor  and  body.  Try  it  in  your  next 
batch  of  butter.  THE  SALT  THAT  MELTS  LIKE  SNOW 

FLAKES   AND    DISSOLVES  LIKE   MIST 

THE  COLONIAL  SALT  CO. 

AKRON,  OHIO 

CHICAGO  BOSTON  ATLANTA  BUFFALO 


GLASCOTE 

SEAMLESS,  GLASS -COATED,  STEEL  EQUIPMENT 
FOR  THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 

GLASCOTE  equipment  being  seamless,  and  coated 
inside  with  pure  white  glass,  enforces  cleanliness 
and  prevents  metallic  flavors. 

CREAM  RIPENING,  PASTEURIZING  AND 
PROCESSING  TANKS,  STARTER  CANS, 
STORAGE  TANKS,  ETC., 

complete  in  every  detail  and  most  efficient.  They 
save  floor  space  and  labor  and  handle  your  product 
in  the  most  sanitary,  efficient  and  attractive  manner 
possible. 

WRITE  FOR  MILK  PRODUCTS  BULLETIN 

The  Glass  Coating   Company 

New  York  —  Chicago  —  San  Francisco  CLEVELAND,  OHIO 


690 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


The  JALCO 


The  Why  of  the  Jalco  — 

Brought  up  in  a 
creamery,  the  Jalco 
is  an  investment  in 
which  you,  as  a 
member  of  the  same 
guild  as  its  designer, 
can  place  the  utmost 
confidence. 

The  Jalco  is  built  to 
fit  your  current;  designed 
for  cream  and  milk  testing 
exclusively  and  carries  a 
guarantee  that  means  real 
machinery  devotion. 

No  gears,  no  rheostats 
or  starting  boxes  and  no 
hand  brakes;  just  genuine 
died  -  in  -  the  -  aluminum 
quality. 

A  postal  card  brings  the 
information  you  need  from 
any  of  the  supply  houses 
listed  on  this  page  or 
direct  from: 

THE  JAICO  MOTOR  COMPANY 


IS   SOLD 

AND  RECOMMENDED 
BY: 

A.  H.  Arnold  &  Bro. 

J.  G.  Cherry  Company 

A.  H.  Barber  Creamery  Supply  Co. 

Blanke  Mfg.  &  Supply  Co. 

Riley  Hauk  Supply  Co. 

Hawkeye  Supply  Co. 

The   Creamery   Package    Mfg. 

Company 

Davis-Watkins  Dairymen's  Mfg.  Co. 
Bessire  &  Company 
N.  A.  Kennedy  Supply  Co. 
John  W.  Ladd  Company 
Owatonna  Creamery  Supply  Co. 
Crary  Brokerage  Company 
J.  S.  Biesecker 
E.  B.  Adams  Company 
The  Central  Ohio  Supply  Co. 
Cherry-Bassett  Company 
The  Dairy  Supply  Co. 

Dairymen's  Supply  &  Construction 
Co. 

E.  F.  Mangold  Company 
Standard  Milk  Machinery  Co. 
West-Hutchison  Company 
Wisner  Manufacturing  Company 
W.  T.  Connelley 
K.  J.  Madden 
E.  A.  Kaestner 


UNION  CITY.  INDIANA. 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


691 


Better  Cream  —  Better  Prices 

CREAMERY  MEN  EVERYWHERE  WILL 
WELCOME  THE  WONDERFULLY 
EFFECTIVE  NEW 

Sanitary  Cream  Cooler 

CREAM,  when  first  separated,  is  at 
its  highest  value  to  the  butter- 
maker.      Help   your  creamery 
patrons  to   realize  the  most  for  their 
produce  and  at  the  same  time  make 
more  for  yourself  by  being  sure   the 
cream  is  cooled  directly  after  milking. 
The  Sanitary  Cream  Cooler  makes  this 
possible. 

Creamery  managers  can  well  afford 
to  send  out  coolers,  paying  for  them  in 
the  increased  price  of  sweet  cream. 

WRITE   FOR  PLAN.  DESCRIPTION 
AND  QUANTITY  PRICES 

INDEPENDENT  SILO  CO.,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 

MANUFACTURERS    OF 

Cream  and  Milk  Coolers,  Milking  Machines,  Silos  and  Tanks 


The  World's  Model  Paper  Mill 

-  Special  Papers 


Best    Brand    Pure  Vegetable   Parch- 
ment Paper. 

The  paper  that  is  better  moist  than  dry. 
Toughens  up  like  a  bladder  when  wet.  Made 
under  sanitary  conditions  for  the  absolute  purity 
a  paper  used  in  wrapping  butter  must  have. 
Used  to  line  butter  tubs,  for  lard  bags,  as  carton 
linings,  to  protect  from  contamination.  Manu- 
factured in  rolls  or  cut  in  regular  butter  sizes, 
plain  or  printed,  as  well  as  many  special  sizes  to 
order.  Send  for  samples. 

KALAMAZOO  VEGETABLE 

KALAMAZOO. 


Pure  KVP  Waxed  Paper 

Used  in  great  .quantities  for  carton  sealers  and 
bread  wrappers.  Made  in  many  colors,  in  rolls 
or  cut  sizes,  plain  or  printed.  Send  for  samples. 

The  New  KVP  Bond 

A  multi-purpose  bond  that  takes  half-tone  cuts 
in  great  style!  Low  Cost.  High  Quality.  Made 
in  all  bond  weights  and  a  line  of  colors  and 
white.  Samples  ready. 

PARCHMENT  COMPANY 

MICHIGAN 


692 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


Vertical  -Universal 
and  Ripener 


Pasteurizer 


COIL  of  the  Tertical 
type  and  entirely  sus- 
pended; shaft  of  heavy 
seamless  brass;  tubing 
of  2 -inch  16  gauge 
copper;  Twin  Coil. 

UNIFORM  tempera- 
ture throughout  Tat 
during  heating  or  cool- 
ing. 

INSULATION— VA- 
inch  and  2-inch  Cork 
Board,  depending  on 
size  of  machine. 

COVERS  — Overlap 
style  with  piano 
hinge,. 


PACKING  BOXES— 
entirely  eliminated 
from  the  vat  and  lo- 
cated above  and  out- 
side the  vat. 

ELIMINATES  AIR 
FROM  PRODUCT— 
It  is  constantly  worked 
out  by  the  helical  coil. 
Oxidation  reduced. 

FLOOR  SPACE— 
One-half  that  of  hori- 


POWER  —  Motor  or 
Belt  %  to  %  that  re- 
quired for  horizontals 


Increase  your  efficiency  of  Pasteurization  and  Ripening,  by  using  this  machine.  It  is  the  Only 
Real  Glass-Lined  Pasteurizer  or  Copper  Vat  Pasteurizer  equipped  with  a  double  twin 
Helical  coil  but  Without  Packing  Boxes  in  the  ends  of  the  vat.  Why  suffer  with  mold,  yeast  and 
bacterial  recontamination  when  it  can  be  entirely  overcome  by  using  this  Vertical-Universal  ? 

Reduce  oxidation  in  your  product  by  clarifying  it  of  gas  and  air.  The  vertical  twin  or  double  coil  con- 
stantly working  from  the  bottom  up,  wrings  the  air  and  gas  out.  A  longer-keeping  product  results. 

JENSEN  VERTICAL  CONDENSED  MILK  COOLER 


Eliminate 
Crystallization 

Furnish  correct 
amount  of  agi- 
tation to  pro- 
duce a  smooth 
product. 

Eliminate  air 
and  gasses 
through  Rota- 
tion of  Double 
Helical  Coil 
during  cooling 
process. 


Prevent 
Contamination 

As  all  packing 
and  stuffing 
boxes  are  out- 
side and  above 
the  machine. 

Specially  Built 
for  Cooling 

Condensed  and 

Evaporated 

Milk. 


Ask  for  Catalogue 
No.  20-A. 


B  JENSEN  CREAMERY  MACHINERY  COMPANY 

LONG  ISLAND  CITY.  N.  Y.          «Hm«»N  D.STR.BUTORS-  OAKLAND.  CALIFORNIA 

IBLANKE  MFG.  &  SUPPLY  co.,  ST.  LOUIS.  MO. 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


693 


Pasteurizing   Unit 


CONTINUOUS 

SANITARY 


Eliminate 
Seconds 


.     Send  for  Catalogue  No.  24-A 
WRITE  AND  LET  US  TELL  YOU  HOW  IT  IS  DONE 

Jensen  Pumps 


Sanitary 
Durable 
Efficient 


ELECTRIC  DRIVE  COMBINATION 


Simple 
in  Con- 
struction 


ONLY  TWO 
PARTS 

TO 
TAKE  DOWN 

AND 
RE-ASSEMBLE 

WHEN 
CLEANING 


STANDARD  U  BASE 

Send  for  Catalogue  No.  21 


JENSEN  CREAMERY  MACHINERY  COMPANY 

LONG  ISLAND  CITY.  N.  Y.        SOUTHERN  DISTRIBUTORS:  OAKLAND,  CALIFORNIA 

BLANKE  MFG.  8c  SUPPLY  CO.,  ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 


694  THE:  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 

CORRECT  NEUTRALIZATION 

of  sour  cream  is  an  important  part  of  the 
process  of  modern  butter- making.  And 
the  choice  and  use  of  the  right  kind  of 
neutralizer  is  equally  essential.  Our 

Special  Dairy  Lime 

The  Ideal  Cream  Neutralizer 

is  a  lime  of  the  highest  quality  and  has 
been  found  the  best  available  and  most 
suitable  for  this  purpose. 

Ask  for  prices — address  "Industrial  Dept." 

The  Kelley  Island  Lime  &  Transport  Co. 

World's  Largest  Producer  of  Lime  and  Limsetone  Products 
11  ACTIVE  PLANTS  NEAR  PRINCIPAL  CENTERS 

General  Offices '  Cleveland 


As  NECESSARY  As  SALT 

Make  good  butter — 
Protect  its  goodness- 
Put  your  brand  on  it- 
Get  your  butter  to  the  consumer  as  fresh,  pure 
and  clean  as  when  it  leaves  your  churn. 
Protect  it  from  dust  and  dirt  by  wrapping  it  in 

PATERSON    PIONEER 
PARCHMENT    PAPER 

and  put  your  name  on  the  parchment.  That 
will  mean  a  bigger  demand  for  your  butter  and 
higher  prices. 

WRITE  FOR  FREE  BOOK  "BETTER  BUTTER" 
EVERY  DAIRYMAN  SHOULD  READ  IT 

The  Paterson  Parchment  Paper JCo. 

Passaic,  New  Jersey,  U.  S.  A. 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


695 


Get  Rid  of  Excessive 
Moisture  in  Your  Creamery 

Is  your  creamery  wet?  Does  steam  con- 
dense on  the  walls  and  water  drip  from  the 
ceiling?  Poor  ventilation  is  the  cause. 

The  King  System  of  Ventilation  will  change 
the  air  in  your  creamery  every  few  min- 
utes and  carry  off  the  moisture.  Your 
creamery  is  kept  sanitary,  preserving  your 
equipment  and  the  health  of  your  butter 
makers.  Lengthens  the  life  of  your  build- 
ing. Makes  the  creamery  more  attractive. 

Send  for  Our  Book 
on  Creamery  Ventilation 

This  book  explains  the  King:  System— what  it  is— 
why  you  need  it— how  we  put  it  in— what  it  will  save 
you.  Kinsr  Engineers  study  each  creamery  before 
planning  a  system.  When  you  order  a  King:  System 
we  assume  a  responsibility  which  does  not  cease 
until  your  creamery  is  properly  ventilated. 

King  Ventilating  Co. 

1219  Cedar  St.  Owatonna,  Minn. 

On  the  Jefferson  Highway 
Vtnt  lalinz  Engineers  for  Creameries  and  Farm  Buildings 

KING 


This  shows  the  way  the  King  Sya. 
tern  carries  out  excessive  moisture 
through  Aerator  on  the  roc  f. 


Unless  the  vent!- 
lating  system  bears 
this  diamond  King 

trade-mark  it  is  not 
a  King  System 


System  of 
Ventilation 


696 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


The  Lathrop- Paulson  Company  has 
Perfected  a  New  Type  Can  Washer  of 
Super -Success.  No  Waste,  Less  Work, 
Bigger  and  Better  Results. 

This  New  L-P  Entirely  Automatic  Machine  has  Capacity  up  to  700  Cans 
and  Covers  per  hour.  Practical  and  efficient  in  every  way.  Embodies  all 
the  features  of  our  former  machines  with  double  their  efficiency,  at  less  cost. 


Aug.  20,  1907. 
Aug.  20,  1907. 
Sept.  14,  1909. 
22,  1916. 
4.  1917. 


Feb. 
Dec. 


Apr. 

Sept. 


4,  1916. 
9,  1919. 


.  864,131 
.  864,133 
.  934.404 
.1,172,808 
.1,249,129 

.  168,585 
.  192,648 


Jan. 
Apr. 
Aug. 
Mar. 
Feb. 


U.    S.    PATENTS 

L918....     1,252,453 


16,  1&18.... 

20,  1907 

3,  1908 

15,  1910.... 


CANADIAN  PATENTS 


Nov.  11,  1919.... 
Sept.   9,  1919.... 


1,262.679 
864,132 
880,713 
949,121 


193,886 
192,647 


Nov. 
Dec. 
Feb. 
Dec. 


Nov. 
Nov. 


Other  U.   S.   and  Foreign  Patents  Pending 


27,  1917. 

4,  1917. 

12,  1918. 

31,  1918. 


11.  1919. 
25.  1919. 


.1,247,692 
.1,249,130 
.1,255,896 
.1,289.824 


193,885 
194,208 


NOTABLE  IMPROVED  FEATURES: 

Does  not  require  even  one  man  to  operate. 
Machines  are    END  FED,  most  convenient  for 

disposal  of  can  by  milk  dumper. 
Driven  by  motor  or  steam  turbine  of  less 

than  one  and  one-half  horse  power. 
Less  than  one-quarter  horse-power  consumed 

in  automatic  machine  drive. 
Water  consumption  cut  seventy-five  per  cent. 
Drying  capacity  DOUBLED.  Fan  delivering  1800 

cubic  feet  of  dry,  sterile,  super-heated 

air  per  minute. 
WARM  SODA  SOLUTION  WASH-under 

pressure  of  80  to  100  pounds. 
CLEAR  SCALDING  WATER  WASH  immedi- 
ately following  under    pressure  of    80  to   100 

pounds. 

THE  LATHROP -PAULSON  COMPANY  art  MILK 
CAN  WASHING  MACHINE  SPECIALISTS  and 
SOLICIT  YOUR  INQUIRIES  and  REQUIREMENTS 

THE  LATHROP -PAULSON  COMPANY 


STEAM  STERILIZATION  under  complete  con- 
trol.  any  amount  you  desire. 

Operating  at  the  rate  of  700  cans  and  covers 
per  hour.  EACH  and  EVERY  CAN  re- 
ceives  THREE  to  FIVE  minutes  of  bac- 
teria-destroying sterilization. 

Insures  Clean,  Dry,  Sterile  receptacles  for 
the  conveyance  of  product  from  producer  to 
manufacturer  at  lowest  possible  cost. 

Machines  have  the  unique  feature  of  handling  cans 
as  fast  or  as  slow  as  desired,  depending  solely  on 
the  speed  they  are  fed  to  machine,  and  cannot  be 
crowded  beyond  capacity. 


2459  WEST  48TH  STREET 


CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


697 


The  Mojonnier  Culture  Controller 

is  used  for  the  continual  propagation  and  control  of 
pure  Lactic  Cultures  and  other  bacteriological  work. 
Made  in  several  sizes,  —  compartments  of  a  few 
quarts  capacity  to  the  larger  size  holding  four  two- 
gallon  cans  for  large  dairies  in  two  and  three  com- 
partment models. 

The  Mojonnier  Composite  Sample  Bottle 

with  pure  Para  rubber  stopper  fastened  to  bottle 
by  non-kinkable  chain.  Sold  either  4-oz.,  8-oz.  or 
16-oz.  sizes. 

Other  specialties  for  butter-makers  and 
dairies  being  developed,  including  a  new 
type  butter  print  scale. 

A  model  for  ecery  requirement.     Write  for  literature. 


MILK    ENGINEERS 

739  W.  da.ckson  Bout.  Chicago 

Branch  Offices—  New  York,  St.  Louis,  and  San  Francisco 


698 


THK  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


Naf  is  Creamery  Glassware 


WILL  HELP  TOWARD 
HIGHEST  EFFICIENCY 
IN  YOUR  TESTING  ROOM 

It  is  made  according  to  scientific  methods 
and  is  guaranteed  to  be  Accurate  and  to 
give  Excellent  Service. 


IMPROVED 
BUTTER  TEST 

BOTTLE 

for  determining 

percentage  of 

butter  fat  in 

butter 


Pat.  Aug.  18,  1918 

Nafis  Standard  Butter  Color  Rod 

contains  four  standard  shades  of  yellow  for  matching  the 
color  of  butter  for  various  markets.  Based  upon  the  color 
formula  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Standards.  Approved  by  butter 
experts. 

There  is  a  tremendous  weight 
in   the   fact    that    NAFIS 
GLASSWARE  is  used  by  most 
of  the  largest  creameries  in  the 
country,   but   the   strongest 
proof    for   you  is 
the  proof  of  your 
own  experience. 


If  your  dealer 
cannot  supply 
you  with 

Nafis 
Glassware 

write  for  our 
illustrated 
catalogue  and 
list  of  our  dis- 
tributors. 


Nans 

Automatic 

Acidity 

and 

Salt  Testing 

Outfits 


LOUIS  F.  NAFIS,  Inc. 

MANUFACTURERS  OF  CREAMERY  GLASSWARE 

542-548  Washington  Blvd.  CHICAGO 


THE)  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


699 


Peters  Automatic 
Package  Machinery 


COMPLETE  line  of  machinery 
which  automatically  (i)  forms,  (2) 
lines,  (3)  fills,  (4)  folds,  (5)  closes, 
(6)  wraps,  (7)  labels,  (8)  seals  pack- 
ages of  food  products,  or  performs 
any  part  of  these  operations  independently. 

This  ingenious,  compact  machinery 
effects  material  economies  in  labor,  time, 
and  floor  space. 

Further,  it  places  packages  of  food 
products  in  the  hands  of  consumers  in  sub- 
stantially the  same  condition  in  which  they 
left  the  producer. 

For  years  it  has  been  used  success- 
fully by  foremost  food  manufacturers. 


PETERS  MACHINERY  COMPANY 

209  South  La  Salle  Street 
CHICAGO 


700 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


Pfaudler 

Glass 

Enameled 

Cream 

Ripener 


Pfaudler  Cream  Ripener 


Prevents  Metallic  and  other 
"Off  Flavors"  by  providing  an 
absolutely  sterile,  Glass  Lined, 
container.  Provides  a  method  of 
heating  that  is  well  distributed, 
and  readily  responsive  to  the  will 
of  the  operator.  Avoids  "pockets" 
where  filth  can  collect.  Is  so 
easily  "get-at-a-ble"  that  the 
cleaning  operation  can  be  safely 
intrusted  to  cheap  labor. 

The  Method  of  Heating 

The  jacket  is  filled  with  water 
and  an  extra  pipe  attached  for 
use  as  an  expansion  chamber. 
Steam  is  injected  into  the  water 
through  the  Steam  Spreader 
shown  in  the  sketch.  The  Jacket 
is  provided  with  a  thermometer 


and  the  temperature  of  the  water 
may  be  regulated  at  will. 

Specifications 

Capacity,  250  gallons.  It  may, 
however,  be  had  in  any  suitable 
size  and  in  different  widths  and 
heights.  Brass  agitator  either 
tinned  or  silver  plated,  mounted 
in  an  oil-less  bearing.  Copper 
cover.  Tight  and  loose  pulley. 

Prices  on   application. 


Showirvj  How  Water  h  Jacket 
Is  Heated  By  Steanv 


Just  Printed,  "Pfaudler  Dairy  Equipment  " 
Write  for  your  copy 

The  PFAUDLER  Co. 


DETROIT 


ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 

NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 

ST.  LOUIS  SAN  FRANCISCO 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


701 


Pfaudler 

Glass 

Enameled 

Cream 

Vat 


Mr.  Hunziker  recently  said: 


"It  has  been  conclusively  de- 
monstrated experimentally  by  the 
United  States  Dairy  Division  and 
by  the  writer,  and  it  has  been 
proven  in  the  manufacture  of 
millions  upon  millions  of  pounds 
of  butter  by  the  writer,  that  ex- 
cessive exposure  of  the  milk, 
cream  or  butter  to  iron  or  cop- 
per causes  chemical  action,  which 
leads  to  most  disastrous  and  cost- 
ly butter  defects The 

only  really  satisfactory  material 
for  the  construction  of  fore- 
warmers  and  cream  vats,  is  the 
glass-enameled  type Cop- 
per vats  such  as  have  been  in 
use  in  the  past  and  are  still  in 
use,  have  been  found  damaging 
to  the  quality  of  butter 


There  is  only  one  substitute  for 
a  copper  vat  that  is  better  than 
it  and  that  is  the  glass-enameled 
vat. Glass-enameled  equip- 
ment is  the  coming  equipment  for 
the  creamery." 

The  Illustration 

The  Pfaudler  Glass  Enameled 
Receiving  Vat  shown  is  six  feet 
long,  three  feet  wide,  two  and  a 
half  feet  deep,  and  has  a  total 
height  of  three  and  a  half  feet 
Capacity  300  gallons. 

It  may,  however,  be  had  in 
other  sizes  and  capacities  and 
may  be  equipped  with  an  agitator. 

Prices  on  application. 


Just  Printed*  "Pfoudler  Dairy  Equipment  " 
Write  for  your  copy 

The  PFAUDLER  Co. 


ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 


NEW  YORK 


DETROIT 


ST.  LOOS 


CHICAGO 

SAN  FRANCISCO 


702 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


Hansen's  Lactic  Ferment  Culture 
and  Danish  Butter  Color 

ARE  USED  ALL  OVER  THE  WORLD  WHERE  THE  FINEST  BUTTER  IS  MADE. 

Rennet  Extract  and  liquid  Cheese  Color  for  factory  use. 

Rennet  Tablets  and  Cheese  Color  Tablets  for  cheese  making  on  the  farm. 

Junket  Tablets  for  Cottage  Cheese  in  every  home. 

CHR.  HANSEN'S  LABORATORY,  Inc.,     Little  Falls,  N.  Y. 

'  BRANCHES  at  Milwaukee.  Wis.  and  Philadelphia.  Pa. 
FACTORIES  also  at  Copenhagen.  Denmark;  Reading.  England,  and  Toronto,  Canada. 


PERFECTION 

BRAND 

BUTTER  COLOR 

PURELY  VEGETABLE 
A  TOP  NOTCH  BUTTER  COLOR 

MADE     BY 

The  Preservaline  Mfg.  Co.,  Brooklyn,  New  York 


Rice  &  Adams  Hydraulic  Can  Washer 

Produces  clean,  dry,  sterile  cans.  Cleanses  the  inside,  outside  and 
cover  in  one  operation,  leaving  the  can  immaculately  clean.  No 
more  sour  milk  trouble  when  the  R  &  A  Hydraulic  is  used. 

SEND  FOR  THE  R  6-  A  CATALOG 

RICE  &  ADAMS,  INC. 

166-182  Chandler  Street  Buffalo,  New  York 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


703 


Great  Western 
Cream  Separator 


Great  Western  equipped 
with  electric  motor 


Here  is  the  cream  separator 
that  has  proved  itself  a  profit 
maker  for  15  years.  That's  be- 
cause it  gets  all  the  cream  from 
every  skimming,  day  after  day- 
week  after  week. 

With  the  Great  Western  the  milk  just 
naturally  runs  down  hill  and  out  the  bottom 
outlet  of  the  bowl,  while  the  cream,  being 
lighter,  comes  to  the  top  and  goes  out  the 
top  outlet.    The  bottom  outlet  bowl  sepa- 
rates the   cream   from    the  milk  just  as 
Nature  does — and  the  Great   Western  is 
the  only  disc  bowl  machine  with 
this  desirable  bottom  outlet  bowl 
feature. 

Correct  Oiling  System 
Low  Upkeep 

The  big  expense  on  most  separators  is  for 
new  bearings  caused  by  the  milk  getting  in 
with  the  oil,  thinning  out  the  oil  and  thus 
eating  out   the   bearings.      On  the    Great 
Western  the  bottom  outlet  bowl 
gives  the  milk  a  straight  down- 
ward course.     It  never  runs  over 
and    down    the    sides    into    the 
spindle  bearings  of  the  pan  base. 

The  Great  Western  is  made  in 
six  sizes,  ranging  from  300  to  900 
Ibs.  capacity  per  hour. 


WRITE  TODAY  FOR  COMPLETE  DETAILS 
AND  LARGE  ILLUSTRATED  GREAT 
WESTERN  CATALOG. 

Rock  Island  Plow  Company 

Factory  and  General  Offices     ..     Rock  Island,  Illinois 

BRANCHES: 
Sioux  Falls      Minneapolis        Indianapolis        Omaha        Kansas  City      Oklahoma  City        Dallas 


704 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


THERE  IS  A  BEST  IN  EVERYTHING 


Miller's  Hydraulic  Cutter 

ESPECIALLY  ADAPTED  FOR  CUTTING  CONGEALED 
MATERIAL  SUCH  AS  BUTTER,  OLEOMARGARINE, 
SOAP.  VEGETABLE  OIL  PRODUCTS,  ETC.,  ETC. 


SOLE    MANUFACTURERS 

L.  C.  Sharp  Manufacturing  Company 

Plattsmouth,  Nebraska,  U.  S.  A. 


THE;  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


705 


Oar  Stock  of  Chemicals  and  Chemical 
Apparatus  for  the  Butter  and  Milk 
Laboratory  is  Very  Complete 


AMONG  OTHER  THINGS 
WE  CAN  SUPPLY 
PROMPTLY:- 

Autoclavs 
Counting  Plates 
Petrie  Dishes 
Staining  Dishes 
Incubators  for  Gas 
Electric  Incubators 
Cover  Glasses  and  Slides 
Electric  Moisture  Ovens 
Balance  and  Weights 
Microscopes 
Aluminum  Dishes 
Babcock  Milk  Testers 
Etc. 


Correspondence  solicited 
Catalogue  on  request 

We  will  be  glad  to  quote  on  your 
laboratory  requirements 


E.  H.  Sargent  &  Co. 

IMPORTERS,  MAKERS  AND  DEALERS 
IN  CHEMICALS  AND  CHEMICAL 
APPARATUS  OF  HIGH  GRADE  ONLY 

1  55-  1  65   E.  Superior  Street        Chicago,  Illinois 


706  THE:  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


Mr.  P.  M.  Sharpies  invented  and  perfected  the  first 
American  separator  nearly  forty  years  ago.  Sharpies 
machines  today  are  manufactured  in  the  oldest  and 
largest  separator  factories  in  America  and  are  the 
standard  machines  throughout  the  world. 

Sharpies  machines  are  100%  American:  Owned  by 
Americans,  manufactured  by  Americans,  built  by  Ameri- 
can labor  of  American  material  and  preferred  by 
Americans. 

Send  for  special  catalogs  on  any  of  these  machines  in 
which  you  may  be  interested:  Sharpies  Suction-feed 
Cream  Separator;  Sharpies  Factory  Milk  Separator; 
Sharpies  Whey  Separator;  Sharpies  Super -Clarifier 
and  Sharpies  Emulsifier. 

The  Sharpies  Separator  Co. 

WEST  CHESTER,   PA. 

BRANCHES:       CHICAGO       SAN  FRANCISCO       TORONTO 


TH£  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


707 


For  Sanitary  Service  Use 


They  are  easy  to  clean  and  keep  clean. 
The  most  sanitary,  and  the  most  econom- 
ically  operated    milk    plants    use   them    ex 
clusively. 

They  are  made  of  highest  quality  steel  plate, 
tinned  and  retinned.     All  seams  are  soldered 
on  the  inside  —  perfectly  smooth.     No  crev- 
ices for  milk  particles  to  lodge  in  and  sour. 
You  should  see  our  extra  heavy  seamless 
rim  cover. 

Send  for  Catalog  No.  111. 

Sturges  &  Burn  Mfg.  Co. 

508  South  Green  Street 

Chicago,  111. 


TORSION  BALANCE  SCALES 

THE   ACCEPTED    STANDARD    FOR     BUTTER    MAKERS 

Rapid-  Sensitive- Accurate 

No.  1700— Moisture  Test  Scale. 

Extensively  used  for  moisture 
in  butter.  Percentage  of 
moisture  (1  /  10#  to  30#) 
read  direct  from  the  beams 
without  calculation. 

Thousands  in  daily  use. 

CREAM  TEST  SCALES 

BUTTER  PRINT  SCALES 

Christian  Becker  Analytical 

Balances  for  Chemical 

Laboratories. 

TORSION  BALANCE  COMPANY 

Factory— Jersey  City,  N.  J.  Main  Office— 92  Reade  St.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

BRANCHES— 31  West  Lake  St.,  Chicago.  111.;  49  California  St..  San  Francisco,  Cal. 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


An  AuTom^rfic  System  of 
Temperature  Corrfrol 


PASTEURIZER 


Typical  application  of  a  TAG  Perfect 
Automatic  Temperature  Controller  and 
Recording  Thermometer  attached  to  a 
flash  pasteurizer — both  of  which  are  es- 
sential for  efficient  and  economical 
pasteurizing. 


Simple-Efficient-Self-Paying 

Improvement   of   flavor   and   keeping  quality   are  the  two 

principal  advantages  of  efficient  pasteurization  but — efficient  pasteurization 
can  only  be  achieved  by  constantly  maintaining  a  UNIFORM  temperature 
within  the  pasteurizers. 

TAG  Perfect  Temperature  Controllers  offer  a  simple  and 
efficient  solution  because  they  automatically  maintain  the  exact  temperature 
required — and  are  self-paying  because  they  not  only  conserve  considerable 
labor  and  steam,  but  also  improve  the  flavor  and  keeping  quality  of  the  butter. 

TAG    Recording    Thermometers  assure    uniformity    of    results 
because  they  accurately  record   every  temperature  operation,  day  or  night, 
thereby  promoting  efficiency  among 
the  workmen  in  their  efforts  to  pro- 
duce praiseworthy  charts. 


Catalogs  H-42S  and  H-345 
will  provide  further  informa- 
tion of  interest  and  value. 


MFG.CO. 

TEMPERATURE     ENGINEERS 
\J6-68  ThirtyThini  St.  Brooklyn. N.Y. 


THE  BUTTKR  INDUSTRY 


709 


Precise  Weights  in 

Packing 
Butter 


E  Toledo 
Predetermined 
Weight  Scale  for 
use  in  packing 
butter  in  tubs  is 
especially  de- 
signed to  prevent 
both  underweight 
and  over -allow- 
ance for  shrink- 
age. In  other 
processes  of  weighing  in  the  dairy,  other  types  of  Toledo 
Springless  Automatic  Scales  also  render  rapid,  accurate 
and  efficient  service. 

WRITE  FOR  INFORMATION 


Largest 
Automatic 
Scales 
Manu- 
facturers 
in  the 
World 


Toledo  Scale  Company 

Toledo,  Ohio 

Canadian  Factory:  Windsor,  Ontario 

BRANCH  OFFICES  AND   SERVICE   STATIONS 
in  sixty-nine  cities  in  the  United  States. 

,  Others  in  thirty-four  foreign  countries. 


10 


THE  BUTTER  INDUSTRY 


Ask 

Yourself 

These 

Questions 


/Will  not  fine  salt  dissolve  more 
quickly  than  coarse  salt? 

Will  not  the  fine  salt  which  dis- 
solves the  quickest  distribute 
the  most  evenly? 

Will  not  the  fine  salt  which  dis- 
solves the  quickest  and  dis- 
tributes the  most  evenly  be  the 
one  best  adapted  to  help  you 
control  the  moisture  content  of 
your  butter? 

Will  not  this  fine  salt  also  be  the 
one  least  liable  to  cause  mottles 
or  brine  pockets  in  your  butter? 

Scientific  tests  and  practical  experience  have  proven 
time  and  again  that  the  Worcester  Brand  is  the  quickest 
dissolving  butter  salt. 

Its  crystals  are  very  fine  in  grain  and  remarkably 
alike  in  shape  and  size.  They  afford  the  maximum  of 
surface  on  which  the  moisture  in  your  butter  can  act. 

Combined  with  these  advantages  the  peculiarly  sweet 
and  pleasant  flavor  of  Worcester  Salt  makes  it  100% 
efficient. 

That  is  why  it  is  the  favorite  Brand  of  buttermakers 
everywhere.  They  know 

IT  TAKES  THE  I 
TO  MAKE  THE  J 

Worcester  Salt  Co. 

LARGEST  PRODUCERS  OF  HIGH  GRADE  SALT  IN  THE  WORLD 
New  York 


FACTORIES: 

Silver  Springs,  N.  Y. 
Ecorse,  Mich. 


OFFICES: 

Boston,  Philadelphia 
Chicago,  Columbus,  Detroit 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN     INITIAL     FINE     OF    25      CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


oqr  21  t938 


NOV   25  1932 


u     1933 


FEB  15 


FEB  15    1933 


JAN    251939 

OCT  18  f9ft 

24Nov'5W 
131954  UP 


LD  21-50w-8,-3 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRAK 


